AML in Germany

Germany is one of the most effective and systematic countries to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Financial crimes such as money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, and bribery harm countries’ administrative and economic systems. Germany is among the countries with the strongest economy in the world. It aims to protect its strong economy from financial crime threats. Germany has identified the risks of financial crime and taken precautions in the past. Germany aims to prevent financial crimes with AML laws and AML regulators.

The Republic of Germany is among the member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Union (EU). Germany’s AML laws are compliant with European Union directives and FATF recommendations. Germany’s first major AML law came into force in 1992. According to The Money Laundering Act, some liabilities have occurred for banks, credit institutions, and other businesses.

In 2002, the German government enacted a series of laws on money laundering and terrorist financing. This law enabled Germany to comply with the first and second European Union money laundering directives. In 2002, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) was established in Germany. The task of FIU is to audit financial markets. FIU reviews and finalizes suspicious activity reports from companies. FIU analyzes financial crime cases and informs financial institutions. In 2008, financial institutions’ obligations increased with the Money Laundering Act and the German Banking Act.

  • Assigning AML Officier to detect and prevent financial crimes.
  • Checking customer credentials
  • Detecting of PEPs.
  • Keeping customer information and transactions recorded.
  • Reporting suspicious transactions to the authorities
  • Training of employees in the field of anti-money laundering.

Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is the financial regulator and supervisor of the Federal Republic of Germany. BaFin Germany was established in 2002 with the merger of 3 regulatory agencies. BaFin’s main task is to ensure the integrity and stability of the German financial system. At the same time, BaFin helps supervise and monitor insurance commitments. BaFin insurance also helps clients justify their trust in insurers. BaFin is the most authoritative regulator in Germany in the areas of AML and CFT. BaFin regulates and supervises financial institutions to prevent abuse of the financial system. BaFin expects organizations to take risk-based measures and meet AML requirements. Also, BaFin represents the AML work of the Federal Republic of Germany internationally.