Article 24 2

2.   Where there is a suspicion that a bank account or payment account, a crypto-asset account or a business relationship is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, Member States shall ensure that the FIU is empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, to suspend the use of that account or to suspend the business relationship in order to preserve the funds, to perform its analyses, to assess whether the suspicion is confirmed and if so, to disseminate the results of the analyses to the relevant competent authorities to allow for the adoption of appropriate measures.

Member States shall lay down the period of suspension applicable for the FIUs analytical work which shall not exceed 5 working days. Member States may lay down a longer period where, pursuant to national law, FIUs perform the function of tracing, seizing, freezing or confiscating criminal assets. Where a longer period of suspension is laid down, Member States shall ensure that FIUs exercise their function subject to appropriate national safeguards, such as the possibility for the person whose bank account or payment account, crypto-asset account or business relationship is suspended to challenge that suspension before a court.

Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to lift the suspension at any time where they conclude that the suspension is no longer necessary to fulfil objectives set out in the first subparagraph.

Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to suspend the use of an account or suspend a business relationship as referred to in this paragraph at the request of an FIU from another Member State.