Role of gatekeepers

By preventing and detecting financial-economic crime, financial institutions play a crucial role in protecting the safety and stability of the financial system. Financial institutions are legally obliged to conduct customer due diligence, report unusual transactions, and exclude sanctioned persons, entities, and groups.

Supervision

The AFM’s supervision with regard to Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft) is aimed at preventing financial institutions from knowingly or unknowingly becoming involved in money laundering. Our supervision under the Sanctions Act concerns the way financial institutions organize their business operations to ensure compliance with sanctions legislation.

Together with, among others, De Nederlandsche Bank, we are responsible for supervising compliance with the obligations arising from the Wwft and the Sanctions Act. The financial institutions that fall under our Wwft supervision are:

investment firms; (managers of) investment funds;
(managers of) undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS);
financial service providers, insofar as they mediate in the conclusion of life insurance contracts;
financial service providers that make use of the National Regime;
providers of crypto-asset services with an AFM licence, with the exception of crypto advisory services; and
branches in the Netherlands of the aforementioned financial institutions that are headquartered outside the Netherlands.

The financial institutions that fall under the AFM’s supervision pursuant to the Sanctions Act are:

investment firms;
managers of investment funds;
(managers of) undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS); and
providers of crypto-asset services with an AFM licence (excluding crypto advisory services).

The Regulation on Supervision pursuant to the Sanctions Act 1977 (Regeling toezicht Sanctiewet 1977) obliges gatekeepers to take measures to comply with sanctions regulations, including the Dutch Sanctions Act 1977. An important measure is the continuous screening of relationships against (inter)national sanctions lists and, in the event of a 'hit', reporting this to the AFM. In addition, assessing the risk of violation or circumvention of sanctions forms an essential part of customer due diligence and the ongoing monitoring of business relationships. This includes, for example, situations in which a customer operates in countries where international sanctions apply. Institutions must demonstrate the measures they have taken to mitigate these risks.

Guideline Wwft and Sanctions Act

To support compliance with the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft) and the Sanctions Act, we have prepared the Guideline Wwft and Sanctions Act (pdf, 620 kB). This guidance provides practical tools, explanations, and interpretations of the open norms in this legislation and enables institutions to properly and effectively fulfil their obligations. The guidance is not legally binding but serves as an important tool to comply with the legal obligations pursuant to Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft) and the Sanctions Act.

Other (inter)national guidance and resources

There are (international) sources from, for example, the FATF, AMLA, EBA, and the European Commission that financial institutions can use when complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation and sanctions regulations. Reference is made to a number of non-exhaustive examples below:

General Wwft and Sanctions Act Guidance of the Ministry of Finance
AMLA Work Programme 2025 and AMLA expects high standards against financial crime in crypto sector – AMLA

EBA guidelines

EBA Guideline on ML/TF risk factors

EBA Guidelines on compliance, internal governance and the role of the AML/CFT Compliance Officer

EBA TFR Guidelines

EBA Guidelines on restrictive measures

FATF

FATF guidance on Risk-Based Approach Guidance for the Life Insurance Sector

FATF guidance on Risk-Based Approach Guidance for the Securities Sector

FATF publications on High-risk and other monitored jurisdictions

FATF guidance on Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons

FATF warning lists

FATF Updated Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers

Relevant information in the context of preparing the risk assessment

National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering for the Netherlands (2023)

National Risk Assessment on Terrorist Financing for the Netherlands (2023)

Supra-National Risk Assessment (SNRA) on Money Laundering of the Commission (EUR-Lex – 52022DC0554 – EN)

Information on third countries pursuant to Chapter III, Section 2 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism at international level – European Commission). These concern third countries that have been formally designated by the European Commission as high-risk third countries under the provisions of Chapter III, Section 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. These are countries outside the EU that exhibit strategic deficiencies in their regimes for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.

This list is not exhaustive and is regularly updated. We expect financial institutions to take these sources into account in the implementation and application of their Wwft and Sanctions Act policies, processes, procedures, and measures to mitigate and effectively manage the risks identified.