Andorra Under Scrutiny for Money Laundering Protocols

Introduction

A recent report published by MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) monitoring body, has highlighted several areas of concern regarding Andorra’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Concerns in Andorra’s AML/CTF Framework

While the government of Andorra has demonstrated a commitment to reforming its AML/CTF framework, there are still significant gaps that need to be addressed. MONEYVAL praised the country for enacting a robust legal framework for criminalizing terrorist financing, but noted that the ratio between investigations and prosecutions for money laundering cases is modest.

Key Concerns

• Awareness of Money Laundering Risks: The report highlighted concerns regarding the awareness of money laundering risks among smaller financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs).
• Limited Resources: MONEYVAL noted that the limited resources available to Andorra’s financial intelligence unit have hindered its ability to effectively supervise and coordinate activities with other supervisory authorities.

Positive Developments in Andorra’s AML/CTF Efforts

Despite these concerns, MONEYVAL welcomed several positive developments in Andorra’s AML/CTF efforts, including:

• Proactive Seeking of Legal Assistance: The country has been proactive in seeking legal assistance from foreign jurisdictions.
• Recommendations for Improvement: The report recommended that Andorra remove the requirement of dual criminality as a condition for rendering mutual legal assistance.

Conclusion

The report is part of MONEYVAL’s Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report on Andorra, which assesses the country’s compliance with international AML/CTF standards. While there are areas of concern, the report highlights positive developments and provides recommendations for improvement.