The evolution of the European Union anti-money laundering system: from minimum harmonisation to integrated supranational AML/CFT governance (1991-2026)

The aim of the study is to explain the evolution of the European Union anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) system between 1991 and 2026 as a coherent process of institutional transformation, which resulted in a shift from the minimum harmonisation of preventive financial control to an integrated model of supranational AML/CFT governance. The methodological framework combines historical-legal, comparative-legal, systemic, institutional, and functional approaches. The study applies a five-element analytical framework comprising Determinants, Telos, Architecture, Role Dynamics, and Rights–Constraints, enabling a comprehensive examination of the evolution of the EU AML/CFT system through the analysis of the principal EU legal acts adopted during the five identified stages of its development. Results. The study demonstrates that the evolution of the EU AML/CFT system was characterised by the consistent expansion of regulatory determinants, functional objectives, institutional architecture, coordination mechanisms and legal safeguards. The findings reveal a gradual transformation from a decentralised system based on the approximation of national preventive AML rules to an integrated supranational governance model founded on a single regulatory framework, centralised supervision, digital information infrastructure, networked coordination and harmonised criminal-law mechanisms. The research identifies five successive stages of institutional development and explains the structural logic underlying this transformation. Conclusions. It is concluded that the development of the EU AML/CFT system reflects a progressive transition from preventive financial monitoring to a comprehensive model of supranational financial-integrity governance. The proposed analytical framework provides a methodological basis for comparative research on national AML/CFT systems and for assessing institutional transformation within multi-level European financial governance.