Institution-Building in Uncertain Times: EU Actorness in the Anti-Money Laundering Regime

The global anti-money laundering (AML) regime presents something of a paradox. At a time of flux in global governance, AML remains an area of consolidation and pooling of sovereignty. Within the EU, a new institution has been established, the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA). This paper examines how AMLA reflects the EU’s strategy for representation and global influence in the AML regime. Based on an overview of recent EU AML funded activities and a document analysis of AMLA’s creation, it argues that to secure its global role as an AML standard-setter and leader in implementation and capacity building, the EU needed to address legitimacy gaps at home. The trade-off for maintaining a ‘big power’ role in global AML policy-making was creating a new institution aimed at improving effectiveness, following years of scandals for prominent banks and inconsistencies in regional practices of supervision and cooperation.