Article

CSSF vs AED: which regulator supervises your fund, ManCo or PFS for AML?

How the 2004 Law splits AML supervision between the CSSF and the AED, why RAIFs and unregulated SCSps answer to the AED, and what changes in your documents.

Draft — under review by the ComplyKit editorial team.

"It is a Luxembourg fund, so the CSSF supervises it" is wrong for a large share of the market. The vehicle determines the AML supervisor, and for RAIFs and unregulated alternative investment funds that supervisor is the Administration de l'enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA, the AED. Getting this right changes the legal framework chapter of your policy, the reporting section, the filings and their deadlines.

How the Law allocates supervision

Law of 12 November 2004, art. 2 lists the professionals subject to the Law, and Law of 12 November 2004, art. 2-1 allocates each category to a supervisory authority or self-regulatory body. The CSSF takes the regulated financial sector under Art. 2-1(1). Notaries, lawyers, auditors, accountants, bailiffs and the insurance sector each have their own body. Art. 2-1(8) then designates the AED as the residual supervisor for every professional not allocated to paragraphs (1) to (7).

A RAIF is not authorised under the 2010 UCI Law or the SIF or SICAR laws; it is caught as an obliged entity through Art. 2(1)(7), the residual financial-entity category, with Art. 1(3bis)(e) on the definition side. An unregulated SCSp that qualifies as an AIF is caught the same way. Neither is on the CSSF's list, so both fall into the AED's residual category.

Vehicle by vehicle

Management companies and authorised AIFMs are CSSF-supervised in their own right. PFS and credit institutions are CSSF-supervised. Insurance and reinsurance undertakings answer to the CAA.

The onboarding trap

A RAIF has an authorised AIFM that is CSSF-supervised and a product that is not. If a counterparty's file records "CSSF-regulated entity" and applies the simplified measures of Art. 26a of CSSF Regulation 12-02 on that basis, check which of the two was actually verified: the manager or the fund. The same applies in reverse when a RAIF onboards investors. Its AIFM's framework applies, but the RAIF's own filings go to the AED.

The SCSp adds a second trap. It has no legal personality, so there is no legal person to contract with: the general partner acts, and the ownership chain to unwind is the GP's. An unregulated SCSp used as a main fund, parallel fund, co-investment vehicle or carry vehicle is an AED-supervised obliged entity at each level where it qualifies as an AIF.

What changes in your documents

• Legal framework chapter. A CSSF-supervised entity cites the 2004 Law, Regulation 12-02 and the applicable circulars as binding. An AED-supervised entity cites the 2004 Law and the Grand-ducal Regulation of 1 February 2010 as binding, and Regulation 12-02 as best practice. Both remain obliged entities under the Law, with the same CDD, reporting and record-keeping obligations.
• Governance section. RR and RC are designated in both cases under Art. 4(1) of the Law. For a RAIF the names go to the AED through its RR/RC identification form.
• Reporting section. Suspicious transaction reports go to the CRF through goAML whatever the supervisor; they are never sent to the CSSF or the AED.
• Filings and deadlines. CSSF-supervised entities file the RC's annual summary report within five months of year end under Art. 42 of Regulation 12-02, the self-assessment questionnaire under Circulars 21/789 or 21/790, and, for funds without an appointed IFM, the réviseur's external report under Circular 21/788 within six months. RAIFs file the AED's RR/RC identification form, the Excel questionnaire and the signed RC report by email to the AED's RAIF mailbox; the 2026 deadline was 31 May 2026 on financial year 2025 data. The AED extended the same regime to unregulated AIFs from the financial year 2024 cycle.

A decision tree in four questions

1. Is the entity a fund vehicle? If not, it follows its sector authority: CSSF for ManCos, AIFMs, PFS and banks; CAA for insurers.
2. Is the vehicle authorised by the CSSF under a product law? UCITS, Part II, SIF, SICAR: yes, CSSF.
3. Is it a RAIF? AED, with a mandatory external authorised AIFM that is itself CSSF-supervised.
4. Is it an unregulated SCS or SCSp that qualifies as an AIF? AED.

Securitisation vehicles the CSSF has not authorised are unsettled in published sources; confirm with the AED rather than assuming either way.

What does not change

The 2004 Law applies in full to both groups: risk assessment under Art. 2-2, customer due diligence under Art. 3 to 3-3, internal organisation under Art. 4, cooperation and reporting under Art. 5, record keeping for five years under Art. 3(6). The sanctions regime of the Law of 19 December 2020 applies to everyone. The EU high-risk third country list triggers enhanced measures for everyone. And from 10 July 2027 the AMLR applies directly to both.

The ComplyKit templates carry the distinction in the variant: choose the vehicle in the buy box and the supervisor, the legal framework chapter and the reporting section follow.

This article is general information for compliance practitioners. It is not legal advice.