The Diplomat
The Government has supported in Brussels Madrid’s candidacy to host the European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Authority (AMLA- Anti-Money Laundering Authority).
Representatives of the Government, the Community and the City Council of Madrid presented last May 31 in Brussels, before the European institutions, the strengths of Madrid’s candidacy to host the AMLA, as reported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation in a press release.
During the event, held at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union and attended by MEPs and representatives of the European Commission and the European Council, the Secretary General of the Treasury and International Finance, Carlos Cuerpo, stressed “the commitment and recognized experience at international level of the competent Spanish authorities and the system of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, with the highest ratings of the International Financial Analysis Group (FATF), a reference body in the field.”
Juan Manuel López Zafra, Director General of Economy of the Community of Madrid, spoke on behalf of the Community of Madrid, and Santiago Saura, Councilor for Internationalization and Cooperation, participated on behalf of the Madrid City Council.
According to the FATF ratings, the Government continued, Spain is the first country in the European Union in the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, thanks to the use of innovative technologies and financial intelligence. Apart from that, according to the Executive, Spain is currently the only country in the world in which ten of the eleven indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of its system for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing have obtained a rating of ‘Substantial’ or ‘High’. “This high rating places Spain as one of the countries with the safest money laundering prevention system,” the Ministry assured.
Cuerpo also highlighted Spain’s support for promoting a reinforced regulatory code in favor of the fight against money laundering in the European Union, as proposed by the European Commission, and which includes the creation of a new European authority in this area.
FATF particularly values Spain’s financial intelligence system and supervisory model. “The Spanish Financial Intelligence Unit, SEPBLAC, is an institution with internationally recognized professionals and with a model similar to the one that AMLA will have, according to the European regulation for the creation of this new authority, with competences both in terms of supervision and coordination of financial intelligence functions”, highlighted the Executive.
In addition, according to the Government, “Madrid has in its favor its status as an international financial capital, its high-level professionals, its geographical location and its magnificent infrastructures”. On the other hand, Madrid has already selected the physical headquarters that would host the AMLA in the event that its candidacy is chosen. It is the Torre de Cristal, which, with its 249 meters and 50 floors, is the tallest building in Spain and the fourth tallest in the European Union. Owned by the insurance company Mutua Madrileña, the skyscraper is located in the Cuatro Torres Business Area complex in the north of Madrid.
The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, personally presented the candidacy to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, during the Italian leader’s working visit to Spain on January 27. At that meeting, held at the Palacio de Cibeles, the mayor declared that Madrid “more than meets the requirements to host a seat of these characteristics”, especially in a country, Spain, which “has an enormous commitment to the fight against money laundering and a national framework that is internationally recognized”.
