The Third Money Laundering Directive (2005/60/EC) (MLD3 or 3MLD) came into force on 15 December 2005. Member states were required to implement MLD3 by 15 December 2007. This was achieved in the UK mainly by way of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2157) (MLRs), which came into force on 15 December 2007.

On 26 June 2017, MLD3 was repealed and replaced by the Fourth Money Laundering Directive ((EU) 2015/849) (MLD4). For more information on MLD4 and on how it has been implemented in the UK, see Practice notes, Fourth Money Laundering Directive (MLD4) and Hot topics: UK implementation of MLD4.