Recital 1

(1)Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁴ constitutes the main legal instrument for the prevention of the use of the Union’s financial system for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing. That Directive sets out a comprehensive legal framework, which Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and the Council ⁵ further strengthened by addressing emerging risks and increasing transparency of beneficial ownership. Notwithstanding the achievements under that legal framework, experience has shown that Directive (EU) 2015/849 should be further improved to adequately mitigate risks and to effectively detect criminal attempts to misuse the Union financial system for criminal purposes and to further the integrity of the internal market.