Transaction Monitoring Netherlands adapts its working method to new European legislation
- TMNL welcomes the AMLR
- TMNL redesigns its business model and structure
- TMNL winds down the existing activities and capacities as a consequence
Five Dutch banks ABN AMRO, ING, Rabobank, Triodos Bank and De Volksbank believe that cooperation between banks and the public sector is essential in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The banks welcome new Anti Money Laundering Regulations from the EU, AMLR, which provides a broad legal basis for inter-bank-cooperation and integration through public-private-partnerships, whilst also addressing relevant data privacy and information security related interests.
Through their joint initiative, Transaction Monitoring Netherlands (TMNL), the five banks have been exploring how advanced technologies applied to a subset of information could be used under current Dutch and EU law to help reveal money laundering activities that are difficult to see when only looking at the activity of their own customers. Their work has demonstrated considerable potential for this type of approach, whilst safeguarding privacy of clients, and has been referenced in recent proposals to change Dutch law that would allow banks to focus their efforts with greater precision on possible criminal activity.
AMLR largely replaces the Dutch legal initiatives by bringing new clarity as to how information sharing of customers who could, and indeed do, pose a higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing can be shared between private financial organisations (such as banks but also other gatekeepers), and the authorities, not only in the Netherlands, but Europe-wide. It offers new opportunities supported by a clear legal framework for public / private cooperation in all EU countries to assist the authorities in our collective fight against crimes such as drugs and human trafficking, corruption and terrorism that damage our societies. At the same time, it can protect and preserve the privacy of the innocent, reducing the impact of current AML activities that also have adverse impact on clients’ relation with their bank.
With this new clarity, TMNL will now adapt itself to the new law, which will come into effect in mid-2027. The precise details of what is required will take time to emerge, as will the re-engineering of TMNL’s operations from the current to new legal frameworks. Constructive collaboration is essential in this journey to ensure full understanding of and support for the work. As such, the banks and TMNL will work closely with many stakeholders in both NL and EU as they move forward, including supervisors, privacy organisations and law enforcement agencies.
Work now begins on planning and the re-design of TMNL. As part of that TMNL will wind down its existing activities and capabilities in the coming period. Understandably, this will have a significant impact of the people currently employed by TMNL.The redesign of TMNL will result in a change of focus, staffing and structure of TMNL to allow this work to progress at a measured pace in full collaboration with all key stakeholders. The future business plan for TMNL will be developed in the coming period.