A sharp increase in supervisory activity
Yachting was one of the sectors receiving markedly greater attention in 2025.
The AMSF records 22 supervisory engagements with the yachting sector, compared with only 2 in 2024. These comprised 11 thematic inspections and 11 Risk & Compliance meetings.
This sits within a wider shift towards supervision of non-financial professions. In 2025, 72% of AMSF inspection activity concerned non-financial professions, reflecting the allocation of dedicated supervisory resources to these sectors.
Where the yacht sector is improving
The report does recognise progress.
For the yachting sector, the AMSF notes that internal organisation is generally proportionate to the size and nature of the business, internal procedures are being updated and submitted, and a documented risk-based approach is generally in place.
However, the regulator also identifies several recurring areas requiring improvement.
These include:
- stronger business-wide risk assessments;
- more robust customer risk-rating methodologies;
- more effective ongoing monitoring;
- better understanding of the distinction between an occasional customer and a business relationship;
- compliant remote identification procedures;
- stronger client screening;
- improved targeted financial sanctions controls; and
- more effective AML training.
The contrast in reporting statistics is also noteworthy.
Suspicious transaction reports from Monaco’s non-financial professions increased by 14% overall in 2025, yet reports from the Yachting & Shipping sector fell from 28 to 24, a decrease of 14%.
The AMSF states more generally that there remains “considerable scope for further progress” in reporting by non-financial professions.
For yacht businesses, this reinforces the importance of having practical internal escalation mechanisms and ensuring that staff understand when unusual circumstances or transactions should be referred to the compliance function.
Enforcement is now a practical risk
The report also demonstrates that deficiencies identified during supervision can lead to meaningful sanctions.
A 2025 yacht-sector enforcement decision resulted in a €50,000 penalty. The findings addressed a broad range of issues, including deficiencies in business-wide risk assessment, identification of parties involved in complex structures, source of wealth and source of funds, PEP treatment, high-risk jurisdictions and remote identification.
Of particular relevance to yacht brokerage businesses, the AMSF also criticised reliance on independent brokers to perform customer identification where those persons were not authorised third parties for CDD purposes.
What this means for yacht businesses
The direction of travel is unmistakable.
The AMSF is moving beyond checking whether an AML manual exists. Its on-site inspections are designed to assess whether procedures are effectively implemented in practice, including through examination of customer files and transactions.
For yacht-sector businesses, that means compliance frameworks should be proportionate but demonstrably operational: risk assessments should reflect the actual business model, KYC and source-of-wealth evidence should be properly documented, sanctions and PEP screening should be effective, and responsibilities involving brokers or other intermediaries should be clearly controlled.
Rosemont Consulting SARL in Monaco assists yacht owners, brokers and businesses in navigating the increasingly complex regulatory and compliance environment affecting the international yachting sector.