Spain Plans Unified Financial Crime Authority to Serve as Only AMLA Contact

Spain’s government has approved a preliminary bill to establish a new authority responsible for coordinating the country’s response to money laundering and other financial crimes.

The proposed National Authority for Financial Integrity (ANIFI) would bring together responsibilities currently divided between Spain’s financial intelligence unit, SEPBLAC, and the Secretariat of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences.

According to the Spanish government, the independent administrative authority would handle financial intelligence, AML supervision and inspections, enforcement proceedings, and international financial sanctions. It would also assume responsibility for countering the financing of weapons of mass destruction proliferation, which is not currently assigned to a specific Spanish authority. 

ANIFI would become Spain’s sole point of contact with the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) for cooperation between national and European officials.

The planned reform would add new types of businesses to Spain’s list of obliged entities and strengthen transparency around beneficial ownership to adapt to European standards. Spain’s Central Register of Beneficial Owners would receive new inspection and enforcement powers, while tighter fitness requirements would prevent people convicted of money laundering from operating or managing regulated businesses. Controls on cash movements would also be strengthened.

ANIFI would be built on the existing structure of Spain’s bank-resolution authority, FROB, and financed principally through fees imposed on licensed obliged entities, including financial institutions and gambling operators.

However, ANIFI has not yet been established. Spain’s Council of Ministers approved the preliminary bill at its initial stage, and it will now undergo public consultation before the legislative process continues.