Financial Crime World

Austria’s Progress in Implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Requirements

Since its last Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) in 2016, Austria has made significant progress in implementing AML/CFT requirements. Here are some key developments:

Legislative/Regulatory Framework

  • Several amendments to the AML/CFT legislative and regulatory framework have been adopted since 2016.
  • The Financial Market Authority’s Anti-Money Laundering Act was amended in 2018 and most recently in July 2019.

Transposition of EU Directives

  • Austria has transposed into legislation the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) and the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD).
  • These directives aim to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion.

Enhanced Sanctioning Regime

  • The sanctioning regime for violations of the AML/CFT framework has been enhanced.
  • Art. 34 and 35 of the FM-AML Act now allows for the imposition of fines for individual persons up to EUR 5,000,000 and for legal persons up to EUR 5,000,000 or 10 percent of their total turnover.

Inclusion of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)

  • The most recent amendments introduced in July 2019 include VASPs to the list of obliged entities.
  • This subjects them to the same AML/CFT requirements as credit institutions and financial institutions.

Definitions of Virtual Assets (VAs) and VASPs

  • The amendments add definitions of Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), which are in line with the FATF definition.

National Coordination Group

  • The national coordination group is required to consult state authorities responsible for supervising the gambling sector’s compliance with AML/CFT standards when drawing up the National Risk Assessment (NRA).

Obliged Entities

  • Obliged entities are required to report suspicious transactions and other relevant information to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Overall, Austria has made significant progress in implementing AML/CFT requirements since its last MER in 2016. However, there may still be areas for improvement, and continued monitoring and implementation of these requirements will be necessary to ensure compliance with international standards.