Andorra’s Anti-Money Laundering Framework Shows Significant Progress

According to MONEYVAL, Andorra’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) framework has made significant progress since its mutual evaluation in 2017.

Upgrade on 12 Recommendations

As a result of this progress, the country has been upgraded on 12 Recommendations, with nine of them originally rated as “partially compliant”. This upgrade comes after Andorra was placed in an enhanced follow-up process following the adoption of its mutual evaluation report, which assessed the effectiveness of its AML/CFT measures and their compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations.

Analysis of Progress

The follow-up report analyzes Andorra’s progress in addressing technical compliance deficiencies identified in the mutual evaluation report, as well as its implementation of new measures to meet the requirements of FATF Recommendations that have changed since 2017. As a result, MONEYVAL has re-rated Andorra on six Recommendations, including those related to:

• Money laundering offences
• Wire transfers
• Guidance and feedback

Ratings Unchanged or Upgraded

The country’s ratings for two other Recommendations remain unchanged, while one Recommendation has been upgraded from “partially compliant” to “compliant”.

Next Steps

MONEYVAL has decided that Andorra will continue to be placed in enhanced follow-up and will require the country to report back on further progress by December 2019.

Conclusion

The upgrade is seen as a major achievement for Andorra, which has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening its AML/CFT framework. The country’s efforts are expected to enhance the effectiveness of its measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, while also improving its reputation as a financial center in the region.