Ukraine Parliament to weigh AML bill needed for SEPA access on November 10

The legislation would create a central register showing which banks hold a person's account or safe-deposit boxes, though not balances, transaction histories or the contents of boxes. Investigators could use the register to find a person's bank account without contacting each bank separately, and ask courts to freeze assets if necessary.

The main dispute is over who gets access to the register. Vasylevska-Smahliuk said European Commission representatives want access extended to law enforcement agencies that investigate financial crimes, organized crime and corruption. As a compromise, lawmakers plan to give direct access at first to the Bureau of Economic Security, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) and the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). Access for other law enforcement bodies will be discussed before the bill's second reading, according to Vasylevska-Smahliuk.

Two related bills are also part of the package. No. 15501 would protect whistleblowers who report suspected money laundering from retaliation, and No. 15503 would give people and companies publicly accused of violating financial monitoring rules a formal right to respond.

Vasylevska-Smahliuk estimates that Ukrainians and businesses together could save Hr 10 billion ($220 million) annually through lower bank fees and transaction costs. "We may not be members of the European Union yet, but joining SEPA would make us part of the European payment area," she said. "It would be a form of partial European integration, something like 'financial visa-free travel' for Ukraine."

The EU's new anti-money laundering rules are due to take effect on July 10, 2027. "If we fail to meet the current deadline, we could miss the opportunity to join SEPA under the existing rules," Vasylevska-Smahliuk said. "The requirements are about to become much stricter, and I don't think Ukraine will be able to implement all of them quickly."

If the bill passes its first reading on November 10, parliament could consider it again in mid-December, she said, though that would require lawmakers to shorten the time for submitting amendments. In the best-case scenario, the law would be passed by the end of the year, allowing the National Bank of Ukraine to submit the country's SEPA application to the European Payments Council.

In neighboring Moldova, which connected to SEPA in October 2025, citizens and businesses saved around $14.7 million in the system's first ten months, according to the National Bank of Moldova.