The Scoop from Dublin: What Europe’s Anti-Financial Crime Leaders Are Prioritizing in 2025
- FinScan
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
At the recent European Anti-Financial Crime Summit (EAFCS) in Dublin, industry leaders, regulators, and compliance professionals gathered to discuss a wide range of topics. These candid conversations revealed the current state of anti-financial crime (AFC) in Europe and where it’s heading. From regulatory harmonization to the role of AI, here are eight main themes shaping the future of AML and financial crime compliance across the continent.
1. Wolfsberg + AMLA: building a shared vision
A unified European anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) is only as strong as the principles it’s built on. That’s why the Wolfsberg Group’s influence is front and center, with all its heads expected to directly advise the European Banking Authority (EBA). The goal: align supervisory intent, foster trust, and create a shared roadmap for the next phase of European AML.
2. Effectiveness over activity
More isn’t necessarily better when it comes to compliance activity and outputs. Supervisors and firms are challenged to shift their focus from volume to value—prioritizing sharper targeting of high-impact areas, smarter resource allocation, actionable intelligence, and demonstrable outcomes.
3. SAR reform: from flood to focus
A major theme was the need to improve the usefulness of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). Today’s system is drowning in low-quality submissions. Attendees agreed: smarter reporting, not more reporting, must be the path forward. Regulators and firms are now exploring ways to encourage fewer but higher-value SARs.
4. Article 75 and the confidence gap
Implementation of AML regulations across EU member states remains uneven. Gaps in capability, confidence, and clarity are slowing progress. Speakers called for enhanced capacity-building and clearer mandates to help national authorities meet shared goals.
5. The harmonization problem
Despite the EU’s push for unified AML oversight, no single AML rulebook exists. Differences in SAR filing and thematic approaches make enforcement patchy. Harmonization must move beyond policy to ensure member states are aligned to execute effectively.
6. Rethinking risk-based approaches
A risk-based approach shouldn’t just be a compliance checkbox—it should be a strategy. Participants emphasized the need to direct resources to the highest risks where they’ll have the greatest impact. Compliance activities that don’t reduce financial crime risk should be eliminated.
7. Designing AML programs for zero failure
Several speakers advocated for programs that assume no margin for error. That means proactively designing controls that leave no gaps—technically, operationally, or procedurally. In a zero-tolerance environment, oversight lapses are no longer acceptable.
8. AI in AML: promises and pitfalls
AI was one of the most debated topics, with a split emerging between hype and reality.
Monitoring vs. screening: AI is increasingly effective in transaction monitoring but is still struggling to transform name screening due to complex linguistic and contextual challenges.
Onboarding gains: AI-driven onboarding is already reducing errors and manual reviews, with some systems making just one to two errors (versus dozens) per day.
Operational tradeoffs: While AI reduces the need for manual work, it may introduce new costs such as ongoing tuning, prompt engineering, and specialized oversight that may outpace the savings.
Regulatory catch-up: Attendees flagged the urgent need for international AI standards in compliance, especially as synthetic documents and generative technology become more common.
Better, not busier, compliance
Europe’s anti-financial crime leaders are shifting the focus from volume to value. The EAFCS was a reminder that compliance needs to evolve from reactive and box-checking to strategic and effective. Whether it’s recalibrating SAR strategies, embracing AI cautiously, or pushing for harmonized rules, the takeaway is clear: Europe’s AML community is ready to maximize the real-world impact of compliance.
