The Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division organised a workshop entitled “Introduction to Development of a Standardised Minimum Data Set (SMDS) for the Reporting of Suspicious Activity and related Transaction Records”. The Workshop was designed to provide a forum for discussion and engagement between European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and representatives from different AML/CFT private sector representatives to review, discuss and provide feedback on the proposed draft of a Standardised Minimum Data Set (SMDS) for use in both suspicious transaction reports (STRs) reporting of transaction records (TrRs).
The Workshop was organised as a hybrid event, bringing together over 120 participants, with representatives of the FIUs and the private sector from 28 EU Member and EEA States, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), the European Commission represented by SG REFORM, DG FISMA and DG HOME, as well as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Egmont Group, FIU.net Advisory Group and Europol, also took part in the Workshop. In addition, representatives from regulatory technology companies (RegTechs) supporting private sector automated transaction monitoring and STR reporting activities and the secure exchange of information between FIUs and private sector entities, also took part.
The draft SMDS was the result of extensive discussions and contributions by FIUs during an earlier workshop held in Amsterdam on 27-28 November 2025 (See news item link here).
The Workshop consisted of panel presentations and working group sessions, in which participants reviewed different aspects of the draft SMDS, such as the different datapoints included, how they were defined and attributes of data to be reported. Discussions also considered how the SMDS could incorporate datapoints relevant to sector and sub-sector-specific aspects of suspicious transactions and activity, such as the payments, money remittance, crypto asset service providers (CASPs) and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals (DNFBPs).
During the first day of the Workshop, Council of Europe experts presented the SMDS, explaining the data-driven and artificial intelligence (AI) supported analysis used as part of its formulation. Other aspects of the SMDS including high-level datapoint definitions and attributes enumeration values, format and validation rules were also explained. Working groups discussions, led by from both FIUs and AML/CFT private sector experts, reviewed the SMDS, considering both sector-specific data of relevant to reporting suspicions and cross-sectoral considerations for the reporting of transactions.
The morning of the second day provided an opportunity for DG HOME, Europol, Egmont Group, AMLA and FIU.net Advisory group to share information about parallel and complementary AML/CFT data-oriented projects and their alignment to the goals of the Project. Views were also shared on how the results of the SMDS’ development might also support these projects.
In the afternoon, a separate panel session was held comprising RegTech experts who shared practical insights on the use of innovative technology for monitoring, reporting, data analysis and information sharing that supports the detection of suspicious activity and reporting of STRs. Participants shared their insights on their experience in working with data, measures to support secured sharing of STR both nationally and on a cross-border basis, the potential benefits for information sharing under Article 75 of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (AMLRs) and the overall benefits of seeking to standardise data disclosed in STRs and TrRs.
As a next step, the Project will continue work on further refining the SMDS, taking into account the valued feedback received from the Workshop’s participants from the private sector and FIUs and to discuss the revised draft with the relevant stakeholders at a Workshop to be held in the first quarter of 2026.
The event was organised within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument initiative “Preparation of a common baseline for an Anti-Money Laundering / Counter Financing of Terrorism Reporting system”, co-funded by the European Commission's Secretariat-General, Structural Reform and Investment Task Force and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.