TITLE: European Anti-Money Laundering Authority Launches Consultations on Three Draft Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Implementing Standards BODY: On 17 February 2026, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) announced that the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) has launched public consultations on three draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the new European anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulatory package established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 and Directive (EU) 2024/1640. The consultations, which opened on 9 February 2026, cover customer due diligence measures, identification of business relationships and linked transactions, and pecuniary sanctions and administrative measures. The customer due diligence RTS specifies information that obliged entities must collect based on identified risks, sources for verifying identity, remote customer onboarding measures, and identification of politically exposed persons. The business relationships RTS establishes criteria for distinguishing between business relationships, occasional transactions and linked transactions—a distinction fundamental to determining when customer due diligence measures apply. The sanctions RTS defines indicators for assessing breach gravity, criteria for setting pecuniary sanctions, and methodology for imposing periodic penalty payments to ensure consistent assessment across Member States. These standards apply to both finan ... (2093 chars total)

TITLE: Austria's Financial Market Authority Prohibits KuCoin EU Exchange from Conducting New Business BODY: On February 19, 2026, the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) issued an administrative decision prohibiting KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH from conducting new business due to breaches of obligations relating to internal organisation, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and observance of financial sanctions. The FMA determined that KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, registered at Am Grünen Prater 2, 1020 Vienna, no longer has suitable key function holders in critical compliance roles. Specifically, the entity lacks appropriately staffed Anti-Money Laundering Officers (including deputies) and Sanctions Compliance Officers (including deputies), which are mandatory requirements under the EU Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCAR) and Austria's Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (FM-GwG). The FMA had authorised KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH as a crypto-asset service provider on November 27, 2025, at which time these key functions were appropriately filled. However, the FMA determined this is no longer the case. The prohibition on conducting new business takes immediate effect and prevents KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH from concluding business relationships with new customers and from concluding new contracts or introducing new products within existing business relationships. The FMA has instructed the entity to establish legal compliance without delay by app ... (1822 chars total)