https://amlwatcher.com/news/fiau-sets-aml-cft-supervisory-priorities-for-2026-2027/
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has published its AML/CFT Supervisory Plan for 2026–2027, setting out the supervisory priorities and interventions that will guide compliance monitoring during the third year of its five-year compliance monitoring framework.
The plan gives subject persons greater visibility into the areas that will receive supervisory attention during the upcoming cycle. The FIAU said its approach will remain risk-based, proportionate, and effective, with supervisory resources directed toward areas that present higher money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks.
The priorities for 2026–2027 have been informed by national and sectoral risk assessments, assessments conducted by European and international bodies, and risk data collected through the FIAU’s Compliance and Supervision Platform for Assessing Risks (CASPAR).
Among the key areas of focus are the effective implementation of reporting obligations, risk-based controls, transaction monitoring, customer due diligence, and verification of source of wealth and source of funds. The FIAU will also assess Travel Rule compliance among crypto-asset service providers, reflecting the growing importance of digital asset controls within AML/CFT supervision.
The supervisory cycle will further examine how subject persons identify, understand, and mitigate terrorist- and proliferation-financing risks within their AML/CFT frameworks. This places greater emphasis on whether firms can demonstrate that their controls respond to identified risks rather than simply maintaining documented policies.
The FIAU will use a range of supervisory tools, including AML/CFT returns, supervisory meetings, policy and procedure reviews, thematic inspections, full-scope onsite inspections, follow-up inspections, and targeted interventions. The selection of these measures will be determined by the risk profile and circumstances of individual subject persons.
For compliance teams, the publication provides an opportunity to assess whether AML/CFT frameworks are prepared for supervisory scrutiny. Firms should ensure that transaction monitoring, CDD, reporting processes, source-of-funds checks, and risk assessments are not only documented but effectively implemented and supported by evidence.
The plan also signals continued regulatory attention to emerging financial crime risks and reinforces the expectation that subject persons maintain a proactive, risk-sensitive compliance culture throughout the supervisory cycle.
