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Compliance by Country

European Economic Area: onboarding obligations and AML controls

Align onboarding, sanctions screening, and case operations in EEA Member States. AutoKYC unifies multi-provider KYC, KYB, and AML tooling with privacy-by-design audit trails and managed analyst services.

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Core regulatory expectations

Customer due diligence
EEA firms follow the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLD IV, V, and forthcoming AMLD VI), requiring risk-based CDD, beneficial ownership verification through national registers interconnected under the Beneficial Ownership Register Interconnection System (BORIS), and harmonised screening obligations across EU and EEA states.
Politically exposed persons
The EU definition in Article 20 of AMLD IV applies, covering prominent public functions in EU institutions, member states, and third countries, including family members and close associates. Member states may set shorter de-risking periods once a PEP leaves office.
Record retention
AMLD IV Article 40 sets a minimum retention of five years for customer due diligence records, with member states able to add five additional years when proportionate. Firms must document retention rationales in their AML policies.

Sanctions and watchlist coverage

AutoKYC’s sanctions engine can orchestrate risk-based screening across primary authorities required in European Economic Area.

How AutoKYC operationalises these controls

KYC Orchestration Platform

Design multi-provider identity journeys with regulator-approved remote identification, tiered fallbacks, and privacy-safe audit trails tailored to European Economic Area.

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Sanctions & AML Monitoring

Screen against EU, UN, and domestic sanctions authorities with rules-based escalation, risk scoring, and immutable audit logs for EEA Member States.

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Managed Onboarding & Case Ops

Delegate onboarding, periodic reviews, ODD/EDD, and escalation workflows to AutoKYC specialists operating from ISO 27001 certified facilities.

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Regulatory references

Maintain documented evidence for auditors and regulators. Link your policies to primary sources listed below.

Frequently asked questions

Use these answers to align product, compliance, and operations teams on local obligations.

How should groups manage cross-border onboarding in the EEA? #1
Centralised KYC files are permitted when local regulators have immediate access and data protection requirements under GDPR are met.
Are simplified diligence options available? #2
AMLD IV allows simplified measures for low-risk products, but firms must evidence why the customer and product qualify.
What is the impact of the EU AML package? #3
The upcoming EU AML Authority (AMLA) will harmonise supervision for high-risk cross-border institutions and introduce a single rulebook.