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France (FR) · Module Detail

France: AML/CFT & Financial Crime (Sentinel.gi-fed)

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SENTINEL-FED POSITION (payments context only; no original FIM analysis). France applies a risk-based AML/CFT regime under the Code monétaire et financier; the ACPR supervises banking/payment-sector AML/CFT, the AMF supervises crypto/CASP AML under PACTE, and suspicious transactions are reported to TRACFIN (the FIU). The EU AMLA, launched 1 June 2025, layers EU-level supervision of high-risk entities. Civil fines reach EUR 100m or 10% of turnover. France's PSD2 agent-network growth (11,092 agents end-2021) is a noted AML supervisory pressure point.

Open gap — wpm-int-3No sentinel-fed AML/CFT delta for France this cycle (W11).Gibraltar/Crown Dependencies and US state-level divergence are standing bias-correction under-index categories per methodology v2 §11.
Open gap — wpm-int-7No Sentinel-fed AML/CFT payments signal for France was located this cycle.no under-indexing note recorded
Standing sub-brief · as of 26 June 2026163 words · last cycle 2026-06-23

AML/CFT & Financial Crime

This module is sourced from the Sentinel feed; illicit-finance analysis is not re-performed here. Per Sentinel, the ACPR supervises banking-sector AML and the AMF the markets and crypto sector; suspicious transactions are reported to TRACFIN, France's FIU. The EU AMLA (Reg. (EU) 2024/1620, launched 1 June 2025) supervises high-risk financial-sector entities. AML/CFT firm penalties can reach EUR 100m or 10% of global annual turnover (individuals up to EUR 5m), with sanctions including licence suspension or cancellation. This supervisory architecture and the penalty ceilings frame compliance cost and licence-risk for French payment entities, with AMLA adding an EU-level layer.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (8)
  1. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) per-JID baseline profile — France — France operates a mature AML/CFT architecture built on TRACFIN (FIU), ACPR and AMF supervision, PNF/PNAT specialised prosecution, and COLB national coordination. FATF's 2022 MER rated the system strong on prosecution, confiscation and international cooperation, but flagged supervisory gaps in real estate, virtual assets, and DNFBP sectors. MiCA transition and Russia-sanctions enforcement (shadow-fleet interdictions) are the dominant live fronts.
  2. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-005) — Gap: sourcing-thinness
  3. T2FIM (sentinel.gi) enforcement_action_register (issue FIM-BASE-ENF-003) — Enforcement: French Navy — Shadow-fleet oil tanker off Sicily
  4. T1FIM (sentinel.gi) sanctions_change_register (issue FIM-BASE-SANC-003) — Sanctions: EU licence-change
  5. T2FIM (sentinel.gi) enforcement_action_register (issue FIM-BASE-ENF-002) — Enforcement: French Foreign Ministry / French Navy — Oil tanker Grinch (Russia-linked, seized Mediterranean)
  6. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-001) — Gap: regulatory-failure
  7. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-002) — Gap: enforcement-absence
  8. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-003) — Gap: capacity-deficit