EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law

European Union

vDirective (EU) 2018/1673 of 23 October 2018, OJ L 284, 12 November 2018; transposition by 3 December 2020; in force. A criminal-law directive: it is not replaced by Directive (EU) 2024/1640, which replaces Directive (EU) 2015/849 from 10 July 2027.

16 domains

20 controls

Directive (EU) 2018/1673 sets minimum rules on the definition of criminal offences and sanctions for money laundering in the European Union. It defines the laundering conduct Member States must make punishable, including self-laundering, lists the categories of predicate offences, makes aiding, abetting, inciting and attempt punishable, sets a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years, provides for the liability of legal persons and the sanctions on them, and sets rules on aggravating circumstances, freezing and confiscation, jurisdiction and investigative tools. It is the criminal-law counterpart of the preventive anti-money laundering rules and was not replaced by Directive (EU) 2024/1640.

Verified

EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law is a compliance framework from European Union with 16 domains and 20 controls that map to 1 other frameworks. The largest domains are Sanctions (3 controls), Criminal Offence (2 controls), Programme (2 controls). Every control below carries what it requires and what an assessor expects to see.

Maintained by Gerard BlokdykVerified against the published standard 31 May 2026Control text last updated 21 May 2026

Framework summaries on this platform are interpretations grounded in the published source, for educational and compliance planning purposes. They do not reproduce or replace the official standards. Refer to the authoritative source for the definitive text. Framework names and trademarks belong to their respective organisations.

Framework Domains (16)

Ancillary Offences

1 controls

Controls in the Ancillary Offences domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art4	Aiding, Abetting, Inciting, Attempting	Ensure ancillary conduct including aiding, abetting, inciting, and attempting money laundering is punishable as a crimin...

Asset Recovery

1 controls

Controls in the Asset Recovery domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art9	Confiscation	Enable freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds from money laundering offences, including from third...

Assurance

1 controls

Controls in the Assurance domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-MonitoringEnforcement	Programme Monitoring and Enforcement	Monitor effectiveness of AML programme via internal audit, MI reporting, and remediation of identified deficiencies.

Compliance Programme

1 controls

Controls in the Compliance Programme domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art13	Transposition	Track Member State transposition of AMLD6 and align internal AML programme to local criminal law requirements.

Cooperation

1 controls

Controls in the Cooperation domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art11	Investigative Tools and Cooperation	Ensure effective investigative tools are available to authorities and that affected obliged entities cooperate with crim...

Corporate Liability

1 controls

Controls in the Corporate Liability domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art7	Liability of Legal Persons	Establish liability of legal persons for offences committed for their benefit by persons in leading positions, including...

Criminal Offence

2 controls

Controls in the Criminal Offence domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 2 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art3	Criminalisation of Money Laundering	Criminalise conversion, transfer, concealment, acquisition, possession or use of property derived from criminal activity...
AMLD6-Art3.3	Self Laundering	Cover situations where the person committing the predicate offence also launders the proceeds, removing the dual perpetr...

International Cooperation

1 controls

Controls in the International Cooperation domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art12	Cross Border Cooperation	Promote cooperation between Member States in investigating and prosecuting cross border money laundering offences, inclu...

Jurisdiction

1 controls

Controls in the Jurisdiction domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art10	Jurisdiction	Establish jurisdiction where the offence is committed in whole or part on territory or by a national, including extrater...

Mental Element

1 controls

Controls in the Mental Element domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art3.2	Knowledge Inferred from Circumstances	Acknowledge that knowledge, intent, or purpose required as an element of the offence may be inferred from objective fact...

Predicate Offences

1 controls

Controls in the Predicate Offences domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art2	Harmonised Predicate Offences	Recognise the 22 predicate offence categories defined in Article 2 including corruption, fraud, tax crimes, cybercrime,...

Programme

2 controls

Controls in the Programme domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 2 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Integration-AMLD5	Integration with AMLD4/AMLD5	Integrate AMLD6 criminal layer with AMLD4 and AMLD5 preventive obligations including CDD, beneficial ownership, and STR...
AMLD6-Programme	Criminal AML Programme Alignment	Align the AML programme to recognise criminal liability triggers, predicate offences, and self laundering risk in custom...

Records

1 controls

Controls in the Records domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Recordkeeping	Record Keeping for Investigations	Maintain records and evidence relevant to predicate offences and laundering activity in a form admissible in criminal pr...

Reporting

1 controls

Controls in the Reporting domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-WhistleblowingLink	Whistleblowing and Reporting	Provide confidential channels for staff to report suspected money laundering with protections aligned to Whistleblowing...

Sanctions

3 controls

Controls in the Sanctions domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 3 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Art5	Penalties for Natural Persons	Apply effective, proportionate, dissuasive criminal penalties with a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years...
AMLD6-Art6	Aggravating Circumstances	Take into account aggravating circumstances such as offence committed within criminal organisation or in exercise of pro...
AMLD6-Art8	Sanctions for Legal Persons	Apply criminal or non criminal fines and possible measures such as exclusion from public benefits, business prohibition,...

Training

1 controls

Controls in the Training domain of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law: 1 controls
Code	Title	Description
AMLD6-Training	Staff Training on Criminal AML	Train staff on criminal AML standards, predicate offences, self laundering, ancillary liability, and corporate liability...

Maps to 1 other framework

20 total controls

ISO 37301:2021

1 source controls mapped|1 target controls covered

Compare EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law with ISO 37301:2021

Coverage is not the same as your position

This page shows what EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law overlaps with in general. Where your organisation actually stands, against the standard you are going for and the certifications you already hold, is a different question. Same graph and the same recorded refutations, scoped to you rather than to a pair.

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What is EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law and who does it apply to?

EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law is a compliance framework from European Union with 16 domains and 20 controls. Directive (EU) 2018/1673 sets minimum rules on the definition of criminal offences and sanctions for money laundering in the European Union. It defines the laundering conduct Member States must make punishable, including self-laundering, lists the categories of predicate offences, makes aiding, abetting, inciting and attempt punishable, sets a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years, provides for the liability of legal persons and the sanctions on them, and sets rules on aggravating circumstances, freezing and confiscation, jurisdiction and investigative tools. It is the criminal-law counterpart of the preventive anti-money laundering rules and was not replaced by Directive (EU) 2024/1640. It is used by organisations to establish and maintain compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.

What does EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law actually require?

EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law has 20 controls organised across 16 domains. The largest domains are Sanctions (3 controls), Criminal Offence (2 controls), Programme (2 controls). Each control defines specific requirements that organisations must implement to achieve compliance.

If I already comply with another framework, how much of EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law do I already cover?

EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law maps to 1 other compliance frameworks. The top mapping partners are ISO 37301:2021 (5% coverage). Use our comparison tool to explore control-level mappings between frameworks.

How do I implement EU Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law?

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