FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit) · Concepts · European Finance Observatory

Roles that need it

SAR (Suspicious Activity Report)A suspicious activity report, also called a suspicious transaction report (STR), is the report an obliged entity must file promptly with its national financial intelligence unit when it knows, suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that funds are proceeds of crime or linked to terrorist financing. Tipping off the customer is prohibited.
AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Authority)The Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, set up by Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 and based in Frankfurt, coordinates national AML supervisors and FIUs and drafts technical standards. From 2028 it will directly supervise a group of high-risk cross-border financial entities.
6AMLD (Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive)6AMLD names two EU texts. Directive (EU) 2018/1673 harmonised the criminal offence of money laundering, with 22 predicate offences and a maximum prison term of at least four years. Directive (EU) 2024/1640, part of the 2024 AML package, sets national rules on FIUs, supervisors and beneficial ownership registers.
MLRO (Money Laundering Reporting Officer)The money laundering reporting officer is the senior person responsible for a firm's anti-money laundering controls and for deciding whether internal suspicions are reported to the FIU. EU law calls the role the AML compliance officer, alongside a management body member accountable for AML compliance.

Updated 31 Oct 2026.