Source: AMLA final report draft
- Anti-money laundering
AMLR supplemental acts
- RTS on group-wide minimum requirements and additional measures for third-country subsidiaries and branches
Article 15 Criteria for identifying the head of the structure for obliged entities that are part of a structure that shares common ownership, management or compliance control
This is a draft act
This text has been parsed from the AMLA final report draft as published on 30 September 2026. While we run a suite of validations, the automated parsing can result in errors. Also, before it is finally adopted by the Commission, its wording, numbering and references may change, and entire articles might be removed or added.
Earlier drafts: AMLA consultation paper draft (16 April 2026)
Summary What does Article 15 of the RTS on group-wide minimum requirements and additional measures for third-country subsidiaries and branches say?
This article establishes a tiered identification framework for determining the "head of the structure" within a structure — a term it clarifies is equivalent to the parent undertaking referenced in Article 16(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624.
The article works in close conjunction with Article 16, which governs the notification and approval process once the head of the structure has been identified.
The identification process follows a cascading logic: obliged entities first apply a set of primary criteria focused on decision-making power and control; if those prove inconclusive, a second tier looks at operational and compliance influence; and if still unresolved, a final tier falls back on quantitative financial and workforce metrics.
Important points:
- Obliged entities are required to identify the head of the structure using a sequential, three-tier set of criteria, moving to the next tier only when the previous one yields no conclusive result.
- The primary criteria centre on which entity holds decision-making power over strategy, transactions, management, branding arrangements, or the ability to exclude other entities from the structure.
- If control-based criteria are inconclusive, fallback factors include management of compliance systems or operational costs, and ultimately financial size indicators such as turnover, balance sheet size, and average number of employees.
Springlex's summary of the article is a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
For the purpose of the application of this Section the term ´head of the structure´ shall be understood as parent undertaking of structures mentioned in the last sentence of Article 16(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624.
Obliged entities shall identify the head of the structure in the Union based on any of the following criteria:
the entity has the right or ability to decide on the strategy or to direct the activities of most obliged entities in the structure;
the entity has the right or ability to decide on important transactions, including the transfer of profits or losses of most obliged entities in the structure;
the entity has the right or ability to coordinate the management of most obliged entities in the structure;
the entity develops, manages, distributes or reviews branding, marketing, franchising, partnership or network arrangements for most obliged entities in the structure;
the entity has the power to exclude obliged entities from the structure where necessary.
Where the application of paragraph 2 does not lead to a conclusive identification of the head of the structure in the Union, such an entity shall be identified by any of the following criteria:
the entity provides essential technical information or material services to most obliged entities in the structure which cannot be replaced in a timely fashion without excessive costs and are not ancillary to the services covered;
the entity manages the compliance control or system of most obliged entities in the structure;
the entity manages the costs of operational and compliance activities of most obliged entities in the structure.
Where the application of paragraph 3 does not lead to a conclusive identification of the head of the structure in the Union, such an entity shall be identified by any of the following factors:
the total annual turnover according to the latest available accounts approved by the management body;
the balance sheet size calculated on the basis of the latest audited consolidated financial statements or, where consolidated financial statements are not required to be prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting framework, the latest audited individual financial statement of the obliged entity;
the average number of employees during the financial year.
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Definition
parent undertaking
- for groups whose head office is located in the Union, an obliged entity that is a parent undertaking as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive 2013/34/EU that is not itself a subsidiary of another undertaking in the Union, provided that at least one subsidiary undertaking is an obliged entity;
- for groups whose head office is located outside of the Union, where at least two subsidiary undertakings are obliged entities established in the Union, an undertaking within that group established in the Union that:
- is an obliged entity;
- is an undertaking that is not a subsidiary of another undertaking that is an obliged entity established in the Union;
- has a sufficient prominence within the group and a sufficient understanding of the operations of the group that are subject to the requirements of this Regulation; and
- is given the responsibility of implementing group-wide requirements under Chapter II, Section 2 of this Regulation;
Definition
management body
Definition
group
Definition
structure
- includes at least two obliged entities;
- is not a group within the meaning of Article 2(1), point (41) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
- has the objective of establishing a common framework of business, professional or commercial relationships having an element of duration connecting two or more obliged entities regardless of the legal form used;
- has common ownership, management, compliance controls or a combination of these elements.