Brussels: AMLA OLAF cooperation entered a formal phase on 21 October 2026, when the new Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and the European Anti-Fraud Office signed a working arrangement. The deal sets out how the two bodies will share operational and strategic information in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and corruption.
The AMLA OLAF cooperation rests on Article 94 of the AMLA Regulation and aligns with OLAF’s own legal framework. It lets the two bodies exchange material on criminal patterns, emerging trends, risk indicators and methods of crime prevention. The press release reports no case numbers or recovery figures, so the value of the deal will show only once joint work produces results.
One feature of the AMLA OLAF cooperation stands out. OLAF can now contribute its anti-fraud expertise to joint analyses that AMLA coordinates, as long as the topic falls within its mandate and the participating national Financial Intelligence Units consent. That includes money laundering linked to fraud against EU funds, a category where stolen subsidies often move through chains of shell companies before investigators catch up.
The AMLA OLAF cooperation also adds a data check. Information from joint analyses can be compared with OLAF’s own records to spot potential matches early. A name, an account or a company that appears in a laundering network and in an OLAF investigation of misused grants could now surface within days instead of months.
AMLA chair Bruna Szego captured the logic when she said criminals do not respect institutional boundaries and neither can the response. OLAF Director-General Petr Klement said the goal is better results, including higher recoveries and stronger protection of the Union’s financial interests. Both statements point to the same gap, since money laundering rules sit with one authority and the protection of the EU budget with another.
The timing of the AMLA OLAF cooperation is notable. AMLA, which is based in Frankfurt, is still building its supervisory and analytical capacity, and the single AML rulebook is moving towards application. Close contact with OLAF gives the young authority an experienced partner that already works with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and national customs and police services.
The legal setting explains why the two bodies needed a written deal. OLAF is an investigative service inside the European Commission that handles fraud against the Union budget, customs fraud and serious misconduct in the institutions, while AMLA is a new agency that will coordinate national Financial Intelligence Units and supervise the riskiest cross-border financial firms. Neither can act alone against a scheme that starts with a fraudulent grant and ends with laundered cash in a foreign account.
For taxpayers, the practical test is simple. The AMLA OLAF cooperation should help investigators follow stolen money across borders faster, and it should raise the share of fraudulent payments that the Union recovers. Watch OLAF’s next annual report and AMLA’s first joint analyses for evidence that the paper arrangement turns into measurable recoveries.
