Risposta CFE alla consultazione AMLA sulle linee guida per il monitoraggio continuo dei rapporti d'affari: proporzionalità, revisioni event-driven, monitoraggio dell'attività, neutralità tecnologica e tutela del segreto professionale per i consulenti fiscali.
Scope of the Submission
CFE Tax Advisers Europe has submitted an Opinion Statement responding to the consultation of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority on draft Guidelines concerning the ongoing monitoring of a business relationship under Article 26(5) of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation. Ongoing monitoring sits at the centre of the AMLR framework, connecting customer due diligence, business-wide risk assessment and suspicious transaction reporting. The Guidelines will therefore shape how obliged entities maintain an accurate understanding of their customers and of changes in customer risk profiles across the life of a relationship. CFE welcomes the emphasis on proportionality and risk sensitivity, while asking that the final text recognise the different ways in which financial and non-financial obliged entities identify and monitor risk.
Ongoing Monitoring in the Professional Services Sector
A central message of the submission is that effective monitoring should focus on identifying meaningful changes in customer risk rather than on the volume of information collected or the frequency of formal reviews. Tax advisers generally do not operate payment systems, process customer transactions or hold client funds. Their contribution to the AML/CFT framework derives instead from knowledge of clients' business activities, ownership arrangements, governance structures and broader commercial circumstances, often built through long-term professional relationships. CFE therefore asks that the Guidelines accommodate different monitoring models and keep obligations aligned with the information reasonably available to each category of obliged entity.
Event-Driven Reviews and Activity Monitoring
CFE welcomes the weight given to event-driven reviews and the recognition of activity monitoring alongside transaction monitoring. For professional service providers, relevant changes in risk often surface through changes in beneficial ownership, corporate restructurings, cross-border activities, controlling persons, business models or geographic exposure rather than through transaction flows. The Statement cautions against periodic reviews turning into routine documentation exercises with limited connection to underlying risk, and suggests that effectiveness be assessed by the identification of relevant risk information rather than by documentation volume. Where updated customer information cannot be obtained, professional service providers may suspend or restrict services, for instance by pausing advisory work, withholding deliverables or declining further instructions, with any termination taking account of applicable professional obligations.
Proportionate Monitoring and the Use of Technology
The draft Guidelines explicitly recognise that obliged entities which do not process transactions, or whose activities do not justify automated systems, may rely on manual monitoring processes and controls. CFE considers this particularly important for smaller professional practices and non-transactional obliged entities, and supports AMLA's technology-neutral approach. While artificial intelligence and advanced analytical tools may increasingly support compliance, the final Guidelines should avoid creating implicit expectations regarding particular technologies. Monitoring arrangements should stay proportionate to the risks, size and operational characteristics of the entity, preserving professional judgement and meaningful human oversight. CFE also encourages AMLA to develop further practical examples and sector-specific implementation materials for non-financial obliged entities.
Professional Secrecy and Legal Professional Privilege
The Statement stresses that ongoing monitoring must operate consistently with professional secrecy and legal professional privilege. It highlights the functional carve-out under Article 21(2) AMLR for certain activities carried out by notaries, lawyers, other independent legal professionals, auditors, external accountants and tax advisers, as well as relevant European jurisprudence on privilege and fundamental rights. CFE asks that periodic and event-driven reviews, activity monitoring and related documentation be designed and applied consistently with those protections.
Continued Engagement on the EU AML Framework
Overall CFE supports the principles-based approach of the draft Guidelines and their emphasis on proportionality, risk sensitivity and technological neutrality. Effective ongoing monitoring depends on the quality of risk assessment, on professional judgement and on the identification of meaningful changes in customer risk, rather than on uniform monitoring techniques applied across fundamentally different sectors. CFE remains committed to supporting an effective, proportionate and harmonised EU AML framework and looks forward to continued engagement with AMLA, the European Commission and other stakeholders throughout the implementation of the EU AML Single Rulebook.
Fonte: CFE Tax Advisers Europe