Definition
The AMLR is Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, the EU’s single anti-money-laundering rulebook. It applies directly in all 27 member states from 10 July 2027, without national transposition, and sets harmonised customer due diligence, beneficial ownership, internal control and reporting obligations for “obliged entities” — the firms Irish law currently calls designated persons.
What is the AMLR?
The AMLR — Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 — is the centrepiece of the EU's 2024 anti-money-laundering package. Unlike the directives that came before it, it is a regulation: directly applicable law in every member state, with no national transposition. From 10 July 2027 it becomes the single rulebook for customer due diligence, beneficial ownership, internal policies and controls, and reporting obligations across the EU. Football clubs and football agents get a longer runway, coming into scope on 10 July 2029.
It sits alongside two sibling instruments: AMLD6 (Directive (EU) 2024/1640), which handles the institutional layer of supervisors, FIUs and registers, and the AMLAR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1620), which created AMLA, the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority in Frankfurt.
Why does the AMLR matter for Irish firms?
Irish designated persons currently work under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. From 10 July 2027, the AMLR's rules apply directly on top of that landscape — and several of them tighten what firms do today:
- The CDD threshold for occasional transactions drops to €10,000 (from €15,000), with limited CDD on occasional cash transactions of €3,000 or more.
- An EU-wide €10,000 cash payment cap applies to commercial transactions.
- Beneficial ownership is harmonised at 25% or more, direct or indirect, with a future delegated act able to set a threshold of 15% or lower for high-risk sectors.
- Firms need a board-level compliance manager plus a compliance officer, and must answer FIU information requests within five working days.
- Records are retained for five years — and then deleted.
What should firms do now?
The sensible sequence is a gap analysis against current CJA 2010 procedures, then updating the business-wide risk assessment, CDD workflows and record-keeping before mid-2027. AMLA's technical standards will fill in the operational detail through 2026–27, so policies should be built to absorb change. CompliDesk Ireland is built AMLR-native from day one — see how the platform maps to the new rulebook.
Related terms
General information, not legal advice. This definition provides general information about EU and Irish anti-money-laundering requirements. Regulatory detail is still evolving through 2026–27 — verify against primary sources (EUR-Lex, AMLA, and your sector’s Irish supervisor) and seek qualified advice before acting.