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Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)
Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) supervises financial companies operating in France . Established by the Financial Security Act of 2003, it is an independent body whose three core responsibilities are to safeguard investments, increase transparency in financial instruments and keep financial markets running smoothly. It is also charged with keeping the nation’s markets and financial services industry free of fraud and money laundering.
As a rules-setter, France’s AMF is responsible for implementing the EU’s MiFID II directive as well as its own General Regulation.
Led by a Secretary-General and governed by a board, the Paris-based AMF is empowered to investigate, enforce and prosecute regulatory breaches. As well as markets, listed companies, brokers, advisers and investment managers, it recently added digital asset issuers and service providers to the types of entities under its remit. Money laundering and terrorism financing
Spurred by the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, France’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism funding (CTF) laws were updated for a fifth time within the French Monetary and Financial Code. Under the Code, the AMF requires reporting companies to carry out know your customer (KYC) and other onboarding risk assessments as part of their due diligence processes.
It obliges reporting companies to submit suspicious transaction reports to the Traitement du Renseignement et Action Contre les Circuits Financiers Clandestins (TRACFIN), France’s financial intelligence unit, dedicated to AML and CTF. The AMF is empowered to seize suspicious assets, issue penalties for non-compliance and audit companies through its enforcement committee.
AMF is also responsible for:
- Promotion of the Paris financial center
- Climate and Sustainable Finance Commission (CSFC)
