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Regulation

Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme (Wwft)

The Wwft is the Dutch anti-money laundering act, in force since 2008. It requires obliged entities to report unusual transactions, not suspicious ones, to FIU-Nederland against fixed indicators. It is repealed in full on 10 July 2027, when the directly applicable AMLR takes over the conduct rules and a Dutch implementing act keeps only supervision, the FIU, sanctions and registers.

Checked by Remmert
7 min read

What is the Wwft, and is it being repealed?

The Wwft (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme) is the Dutch anti-money laundering act, in force since 2008. It requires obliged entities to report unusual transactions, not suspicious ones, to FIU-Nederland against fixed indicators. It is repealed in full on 10 July 2027, when the directly applicable AMLR takes over the conduct rules and a Dutch implementing act keeps only supervision, the FIU, sanctions and registers.

The Dutch government's own words: "De Iwt vervangt de Wwft dus niet inhoudelijk, maar structureel." The Act is not amended. It is withdrawn and rebuilt one layer down.

Last updated: 17 August 2026. Checked against the consolidated text in force from 1 July 2026 and the indicator annex in force from 30 April 2026.

At a glance

Official title

Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme, Act of 15 July 2008

Consolidated text

BWBR0024282, version in force from 1 July 2026

EU basis

Directive (EU) 2015/849 (AMLD4) as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843 (AMLD5)

Delegated norms

Uitvoeringsbesluit Wwft 2018, BWBR0041193, version in force from 30 April 2026, containing the UBO tests and the indicator annex

Ministerial rules

Uitvoeringsregeling Wwft, BWBR0024275, in force from 1 January 2026

Sanctions track

Sanctiewet 1977, BWBR0003296, and the Regeling toezicht Sanctiewet 1977

Supervisors

Six: DNB, AFM, BFT, the deken of the local bar, the Minister of Finance, and the Kansspelautoriteit

Ends

10 July 2027: see the AMLR

The Dutch peculiarity: unusual is not suspicious

This is the single most misunderstood feature of the Dutch regime, and the one that catches foreign groups applying a global suspicious-activity policy.

The Netherlands does not operate a suspicious transaction report. Obliged entities report ongebruikelijke transacties (transactions that trip an indicator) to FIU-Nederland. The threshold is deliberately lower than suspicion. Only FIU-Nederland can convert an unusual transaction into a verdachte transactie, after which it goes to law enforcement and intelligence services. An institution never makes that call.

Filing is therefore not an accusation. Under-reporting because a transaction "wasn't really suspicious" is the classic Dutch enforcement failure.

The indicators are set in the annex to the Uitvoeringsbesluit Wwft 2018 and come in two kinds. The subjective indicator, which applies to every category: a transaction where the institution has reason to suppose it may be connected with money laundering or terrorist financing.

The objective indicators

Mechanical, and requiring no judgement.

InstitutionObjective indicator

Bank

Transaction of €10,000 or more involving cash exchange into another currency or a change of denomination

Bank

Cash deposit of €10,000 or more in favour of a credit card or prepaid payment instrument

Bank

Credit-card or prepaid-instrument transaction of €15,000 or more

Bank

Money transfer of €2,000 or more, subject to defined exceptions

Electronic money institution

Cash deposit ≥€10,000 for a credit or prepaid card; credit or prepaid transaction ≥€15,000; money transfer ≥€2,000

Exchange institution

Transaction ≥€10,000 involving cash currency exchange or denomination change

Tax adviser, accountant, lawyer, notary, trust office, real-estate intermediary, valuer

Transaction of €10,000 or more paid in or out in cash, bearer cheques, prepaid instrument or foreign currency

Crypto-asset service provider

Exchange of €10,000 or more between crypto-assets and fiat currency

Casino

Deposit of coins, notes or valuables ≥€10,000; giro payment ≥€15,000; transaction ≥€10,000 in cash, cheques, prepaid or foreign currency

Remote gambling

Giro payment transaction of €15,000 or more

Who supervises what

Supervision in the Netherlands is unusually fragmented: six supervisors, allocated by Article 1d.

SupervisorObliged entities

DNB

Banks · payment institutions · electronic money institutions · exchange institutions · life insurers · payment agents · trust offices · CASPs that are banks or e-money institutions · Dutch branches of those

AFM

Investment firms · investment institutions (AIFs) · UCITS · financial service providers intermediating in life insurance · all CASPs that are not banks or e-money institutions

Bureau Financieel Toezicht (BFT)

Tax advisers · external accountants · notaries · comparable legal professions

The deken of the local bar

Advocaten, reflecting professional privilege

Minister of Finance

Domicile providers · estate agents and lettings intermediaries where monthly rent is €10,000 or more · dealers in goods · intermediaries in vehicles, ships, art and jewellery · art dealers from €10,000 · valuers · pawnshops

Kansspelautoriteit

Gambling providers, land-based and remote

What it requires

ObligationArticleContent

Duty to perform CDD and report

2a

Plus a duty to take adequate measures against risks from new technologies

Enterprise-wide risk assessment

2b

Identify and assess ML and TF risks across client type, products, services, transactions, delivery channels and geography; documented, kept current, and made available to the supervisor

Policies, procedures and measures

2c

Proportionate to the identified risks, approved at senior-management level, systematically tested and updated

Compliance and audit function

2d

One board member accountable; an independent compliance function; where appropriate an independent audit function

Client due diligence

3

Identify and verify the client; identify the UBO and take reasonable measures to verify; establish the purpose and intended nature of the relationship; ongoing monitoring; establish the representative's authority. Triggered on entering a relationship, on an occasional transaction of €15,000 or more or linked transactions totalling that, on ML or TF indications, on doubt about previously obtained data, and on risk-triggered review

Simplified due diligence

6

Where the risk assessment shows lower risk

Enhanced due diligence

8

Higher-risk situations. Art. 8(5) now requires risk-mitigating measures for crypto transfers involving self-hosted addresses. Note this is no longer the PEP provision

High-risk third countries

9

Mandatory enhanced due diligence for Commission-designated countries

Reporting unusual transactions

15–16

Against the indicator annex, to FIU-Nederland

Tipping off

23

Restrictions on disclosing that a report has been or will be made

Record-keeping and training

33–35

n/a

Cash payment ban

1f

Dealers in goods, art dealers and pawnshops may not make or accept cash payments for goods of €3,000 or more, in or from the Netherlands. In force 1 January 2026

Dutch terms, defined in English

No competitor page defines these, and they are what a foreign group's Dutch entity is actually assessed against.

  • SIRA

    Systematische integriteitsrisicoanalyse

    A documented, periodically updated, institution-wide analysis of integrity risks (money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, corruption, conflicts of interest, socially improper conduct) mapped to controls and residual risk. It is broader than the Wwft risk assessment: Article 2b Wwft covers ML and TF only, and the SIRA is the prudential-law vehicle that contains it. Legal basis: Articles 3:10 and 3:17 Wft, elaborated in the Besluit prudentiële regels Wft, and for trust offices the Wtt 2018. For DNB-supervised institutions it is effectively mandatory, but via the Wft, not the Wwft, which is why the obligation survives the 2027 repeal.

  • Arts. 3:10 & 3:17 Wft

    Beheerste en integere bedrijfsvoering

    Controlled and ethical business operations, the Wft's overarching organisational duty. Article 3:10 Wft covers ethical operations: integrity policy, systematic risk analysis, integrity-sensitive positions. Article 3:17 Wft covers controlled operations: governance, risk management, internal control, outsourcing, business continuity. This is the hook DNB uses to enforce AML failings that are organisational rather than a breach of a specific Wwft article, which is why a Dutch AML enforcement file usually cites Wft articles alongside Wwft ones.

  • Arts. 15–16 Wwft

    Ongebruikelijke transactie versus verdachte transactie

    An institution reports an unusual transaction, one that meets an objective indicator or the subjective indicator. Only FIU-Nederland can convert it into a suspicious transaction, after which it goes to law enforcement. Filing an unusual transaction is not an accusation, and under-reporting because a transaction "wasn't really suspicious" is the classic Dutch enforcement failure.

  • Arts. 2a–3, 16, 33–35 Wwft

    Poortwachtersfunctie

    The gatekeeper function: the doctrinal framing of the whole Dutch regime. Obliged entities are the gate through which criminal money would otherwise enter the financial system, and carry a public-interest duty distinct from their commercial relationship with the client. No single article codifies it, it is the collective effect of Articles 2a to 3, 16 and 33 to 35. It is also the standard against which Dutch supervisors judge de-risking as over-compliance, a live 2026 supervisory theme.

  • Non-binding

    DNB Good Practices

    Non-binding documents describing practices that, in DNB's view, satisfy an open norm. They create no obligations, but an institution deviating from one is expected to be able to explain why.

The dates

2025

  1. 4 February 2025Passed

    Chapter 3A repealed: the old crypto registration regime ends; CASPs become ordinary obliged entities under Art. 1a(3)(k). New Art. 8(5) on self-hosted addresses

  2. 30 June 2025Passed

    Transitional period for entities registered under the old Chapter 3A ends

2026

  1. 1 January 2026Passed

    Art. 1f: €3,000 cash payment ban for dealers in goods, art dealers and pawnshops. Art. 6:113 BW protects the consumer's right to pay cash below that

  2. 30 April 2026Passed

    Current *Uitvoeringsbesluit* version, including the indicator annex, in force

  3. 1 July 2026Passed

    Current consolidated Wwft version in force

2027

  1. 10 July 2027Upcoming

    AMLR applies. Wwft formally repealed.

No fixed date

  1. 2026, date to be setExpected

    AMvB on exceptions to the duty to accept cash (Art. IIA Wpaw), still awaiting consultation

  2. 2026–2027Expected

    *Implementatiewet* introduced at the Tweede Kamer and passed

What happens on 10 July 2027

The obligations do not disappear. They change citation layer, and that is the practical work.

Moves to directly applicable EU law (AMLR): the obliged-entity list, customer due diligence, simplified and enhanced due diligence, PEP rules, UBO identification and thresholds, reliance on third parties, internal policies and controls, record-keeping, training, the reporting duty as such, tipping off, group-wide requirements, and the EU-wide €10,000 cash limit.

Stays national in the Implementatiewet (transposing AMLD6):

  • Supervision. The same six supervisors are retained, with enforcement powers in a national chapter.
  • FIU-Nederland, under the Minister of Justice and Security, retaining the Dutch power to suspend a transaction for up to five working days and to order monitoring.
  • Sanctions: administrative fines up to €10 million or 10% of net annual turnover, disqualification of senior management, forced divestment of a qualifying holding.
  • Registers: UBO registration through the Handelsregisterwet 2007; registration of domicile providers; trust-office licensing under the Wtt 2018.

Four Dutch choices visible in the consultation draft: retention of the Dutch hoofdzaakcriterium for other financial undertakings, now constrained by AMLR Article 6; use of the Member State option to require enhanced due diligence for the trust sector on top of AMLR measures; risk-based, ex post fit-and-proper assessment of senior management for non-licensed institutions instead of prior approval; and a new notification duty requiring institutions to notify their supervisor of intended AMLR-covered services within three months of entry into force.

Practical guidance. Anything you currently cite as "Article 3 Wwft" becomes an AMLR article. Anything you cite as "Article 1d Wwft" or "Article 26 Wwft" becomes an Implementatiewet article. A policy set that carries its own citations can be re-derived; one that does not has to be re-read line by line.

The Sanctiewet track is untouched.

What recently changed

1 January 2026: the €3,000 cash ban took effect, as Article 1f Wwft. It is what survives of the Wet plan van aanpak witwassen.

The rest of that bill was cut. Of four original measures, a nota van wijziging of 26 June 2024 removed three: joint transaction monitoring between banks, data sharing between institutions for higher-risk due diligence, and the clarification on processing special categories of personal data. They were dropped after criticism from the Raad van State and the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, and because the AMLR's maximum harmonisation precludes a separate national regime. Any revival must now come through the EU package.

One piece is still dormant: Article IIA, the acceptatieplicht (the obligation to accept cash below €3,000) has not entered into force and requires a separate AMvB with consultation, Raad van State advice and parliamentary scrutiny.

4 February 2025: the crypto registration regime disappeared. Chapter 3A Wwft, the AMLD5 registration for virtual-currency exchange and custodian wallet providers, was repealed outright: "Hoofdstuk 3A vervalt." There is no longer any Wwft registration for crypto firms. Authorisation is under MiCA, and authorised CASPs are ordinary Wwft obliged entities under Article 1a(3)(k). Registrations under the old regime were grandfathered only to 30 June 2025.

11 March 2026: the Algemene Rekenkamer reported critically on the cost and benefit of the banking sector's AML approach, in "Gevolgen groot, opbrengsten onbekend".

Enforcement. ABN AMRO was fined €8.5 million by a decision of 6 July 2026, for structural shortcomings in ongoing monitoring of a portion of its high-risk customers. CCV Group was fined €2,656,250 for a transaction monitoring system not fully and timely fed for over two years; that decision is dated 2 March 2026 but was only published on 13 July 2026. De Volksbank was fined €20 million in January 2025, of which €15 million was imposed under the Wft and €5 million under the Wwft. bunq was fined €2.6 million, and has appealed; the case is pending. Three of the four decisions turn on transaction monitoring and alert follow-up rather than customer identification. Detail on the AMLA page.

What can GenCompl.ai do for you?

Our pipeline tracks the Wwft, the Uitvoeringsbesluit indicator annex, the Sanctiewet track and the AMLR and Implementatiewet that replace them, and holds the mapping between them, so a control described today against Article 3 Wwft carries forward to its AMLR article rather than needing to be rewritten. Each conclusion carries its article, its source and the date it was last recalculated.

Book a working session

Questions and answers

What is the difference between an unusual and a suspicious transaction in the Netherlands?

An ongebruikelijke transactie is one that meets an objective indicator (a fixed amount or product trigger) or the subjective indicator, meaning the institution has reason to suppose it may be connected with money laundering or terrorist financing. The institution must report it to FIU-Nederland under Article 16 Wwft. A verdachte transactie is an unusual transaction that FIU-Nederland, and only FIU-Nederland, has analysed and declared suspicious, which then goes to law enforcement. In 2025, 3,055,362 unusual transactions were reported and 92,043 declared suspicious: about three in a hundred.

When must a Dutch bank report a cash transaction?

Among others: any transaction of €10,000 or more involving cash exchange into another currency or a change of denomination; any cash deposit of €10,000 or more in favour of a credit card or prepaid instrument; any credit-card or prepaid transaction of €15,000 or more; and any money transfer of €2,000 or more, subject to defined exceptions. Independently of any threshold, the subjective indicator applies to every transaction. The thresholds sit in the annex to the Uitvoeringsbesluit Wwft 2018, not in the Act.

Who supervises Wwft compliance for a Dutch payment institution?

De Nederlandsche Bank. Payment institutions fall under Article 1a(3)(b) and Article 1d allocates that letter to DNB, as it does banks, e-money institutions, exchange institutions, life insurers, payment agents and trust offices. Note the CASP split: DNB supervises crypto-asset service providers that are banks or e-money institutions; the AFM supervises all other CASPs.

Is the Wwft repealed in 2027?

Yes, in full. The consultation version of the Implementatiewet states plainly: "Met de inwerkingtreding van de Implementatiewet ter voorkoming van witwassen en terrorismefinanciering (Iwt) wordt de Wwft formeel ingetrokken." The substantive obligations move to the directly applicable AMLR from 10 July 2027; the Dutch act keeps only supervision, FIU-Nederland, sanctions and registers: "De Iwt vervangt de Wwft dus niet inhoudelijk, maar structureel."

Do Dutch crypto-asset service providers still register under the Wwft after MiCA?

No. Chapter 3A Wwft, Articles 23b to 23j (the AMLD5 registration regime for virtual-currency exchange and custodian wallet providers) was repealed with effect from 4 February 2025. CASPs now need MiCA authorisation and are Wwft obliged entities as aanbieders van cryptoactivadiensten under Article 1a(3)(k). Registrations under the old regime were grandfathered only until 30 June 2025. See MiCA.

What is a SIRA and is it legally required?

A SIRA is a documented, periodically updated, institution-wide analysis of integrity risks (money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, corruption, conflicts of interest) linked to controls and residual risk. It is not required by the Wwft as such: the Wwft requires an ML and TF risk assessment under Article 2b. The SIRA obligation flows from Articles 3:10 and 3:17 Wft and the Besluit prudentiële regels Wft. For DNB-supervised institutions it is effectively mandatory, and DNB expects the Article 2b assessment to sit inside it. Because the obligation is in the Wft, it is unaffected by the 2027 repeal.

Can a Dutch dealer in goods still accept €5,000 in cash?

No. Since 1 January 2026, Article 1f Wwft prohibits dealers in goods, art dealers and pawnshops from making or accepting cash payments for goods of €3,000 or more, or the equivalent in foreign currency, in or from the Netherlands. Consumers retain the right to pay cash below that threshold under Article 6:113 BW. From 10 July 2027 the EU limit of €10,000 also covers services, which the Dutch rule does not.

Who supervises a Dutch law firm's Wwft compliance, and does legal privilege apply?

The deken of the local bar, not the BFT. Lawyers are covered only for defined gatekeeper activities: real-estate purchase and sale, managing money, securities or precious metals, incorporating or managing companies, share and business M&A, comparable tax work, creating mortgages, or acting in a client's name in a financial or real-estate transaction. Article 1a(5) excludes work done in determining a client's legal position, representation in or about legal proceedings, and advice on instituting or avoiding proceedings.

What triggers client due diligence for an occasional client?

An occasional transaction of €15,000 or more, or several linked transactions totalling that amount, under Article 3(5). Due diligence is also triggered on entering a business relationship, where there are indications of money laundering or terrorist financing, where there is doubt about previously obtained client data, and on a risk-triggered review of an existing client.

What is the UBO threshold in the Netherlands and where is it written down?

For a B.V. or N.V., the UBO is the natural person who directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of the shares, voting rights or ownership interest. The threshold is not in the Wwft: it is in Article 3 of the *Uitvoeringsbesluit Wwft 2018*, which sets a different test per legal form. Where no UBO can be identified, senior managing officials are recorded as pseudo-UBO. From 10 July 2027 the test moves to Article 52 AMLR, which keeps 25% but changes the calculation for multi-layered chains.

Glossary

  • Shell bank (Wwft)

    Een kredietinstelling of financiële instelling, of een instelling die soortgelijke activiteiten uitoefent, die is opgericht in een rechtsgebied waarin zij geen fysieke aanwezigheid heeft die betekenisvolle leiding en beheer inhoudt, en die niet is aangesloten bij een gereglementeerde financiële groep. De AMLR bevat een gelijkluidende definitie in het Engels.

  • Toezichthouder

    Een toezichthouder als bedoeld in artikel 24.

  • Staat

    Een soevereine staat of een autonoom gebiedsdeel daarvan.

  • Richtlijn

    Richtlijn (EU) 2015/849 van het Europees Parlement en de Raad van 20 mei 2015 inzake de voorkoming van het gebruik van het financiële stelsel voor het witwassen van geld of terrorismefinanciering (PbEU 2015, L 141).

  • Politiek prominent persoon

    Natuurlijke persoon die een prominente openbare functie bekleedt of heeft bekleed, met uitzondering van middelgrote of lagere functionarissen, alsmede de directe familieleden of naaste geassocieerden van deze personen.

  • Ongebruikelijke transactie

    Een transactie die op grond van de indicatoren, vastgesteld krachtens artikel 15, eerste lid, als ongebruikelijk is aan te merken.

  • Niet-gouvernementele organisatie

    Een rechtspersoon of maatschap zonder winstoogmerk die zich richt op het algemeen maatschappelijk belang of ideële doeleinden.

  • Meldpunt

    De Financiële inlichtingen-eenheid, bedoeld in artikel 12, eerste lid.

  • Lidstaat

    Een lidstaat van de Europese Unie alsmede een staat, niet zijnde een lidstaat van de Europese Unie, die partij is bij de Overeenkomst betreffende de Europese Economische Ruimte.

  • Kredietinstelling

    Een kredietinstelling als bedoeld in artikel 1:1 van de Wet op het financieel toezicht.