6AMLD Compliance Guide

EU 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive & Adverse Media Screening

The 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) strengthens the EU's framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. This guide explains the directive's key requirements and how adverse media screening supports compliance.

What is 6AMLD?

Directive (EU) 2018/1673, known as 6AMLD, came into effect on December 3, 2020. It builds upon 5AMLD by:

Harmonizing the definition of money laundering across all EU member states
Expanding the list of predicate offenses to 22 categories
Extending criminal liability to legal persons (corporations)
Introducing harsher penalties (minimum 4 years imprisonment)

The 22 Predicate Offenses

6AMLD defines 22 categories of criminal activity that, if proceeds are laundered, constitute predicate offenses. Our adverse media database tracks all of these:

1. Participation in organized crime

2. Terrorism

3. Trafficking in human beings

4. Sexual exploitation (incl. children)

5. Illicit drug trafficking

6. Illicit arms trafficking

7. Illicit goods trafficking

8. Corruption

9. Fraud

10. Counterfeiting currency

11. Counterfeiting products

12. Environmental crime

13. Murder / grievous bodily harm

14. Kidnapping

15. Robbery / theft

16. Smuggling

17. Tax crimes

18. Extortion

19. Forgery

20. Piracy

21. Insider trading / market manipulation

22. Cybercrime

How Adverse Media Supports 6AMLD Compliance

1. Predicate Offense Detection

Our risk categorization taxonomy maps directly to the 22 predicate offenses. When you screen an entity, the API returns risk events tagged with categories like "Drug Trafficking," "Tax Evasion," or "Environmental Crime."

API Response Example

"risk_categories": ["Environmental Crime", "Fraud"] — This entity has adverse media related to two 6AMLD predicate offenses.

2. Corporate Liability Screening

6AMLD extends liability to legal persons. Our API supports screening of organizations, not just individuals, including UBOs (Ultimate Beneficial Owners) and directors.

3. Cross-Border Investigations

6AMLD encourages cross-border cooperation. Our database covers 9,000+ sources across 30+ countries in 25+ languages, supporting due diligence on international entities.

Implementation for EU Entities

☐ Map your internal risk categories to the 22 predicate offenses
☐ Screen all customers (individuals AND legal persons) at onboarding
☐ Implement ongoing monitoring with webhook alerts
☐ Document screening results for regulatory audits
☐ Train compliance staff on 6AMLD requirements

Simplify your 6AMLD compliance

Screen entities against adverse media aligned with EU predicate offenses.

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