Belarus Cracks Down on Money Laundering with Tough Laws and Regulations

Minsk - In recent years, the Republic of Belarus has taken significant steps to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Legal Framework In 2005, Belarus passed the Law on Measures to Prevent the Laundering of Illegally Acquired Proceeds, providing a legal framework for combating money laundering.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Standards Belarus requires all financial institutions to follow strict AML standards, including:

Reporting any transactions exceeding $27,000 to the Department of Financial Monitoring
Conducting customer due diligence
Monitoring transactions
Screening for politically exposed persons (PEPs)
Monitoring adverse media reports

Law Enforcement Agencies The country has a range of law enforcement agencies dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including:

State Border Committee
Ministry of Internal Affairs
State Customs Committee

Central Bank of Belarus The Central Bank of Belarus is responsible for monitoring banking and other financial institutions’ transactions. All suspicious transaction information must be reported to its Department of Bank Monitoring.

International Recognition Belarus has been praised by international organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. In 2014, Belarus was removed from the FATF’s list of countries recognized as having strategic AML shortcomings.

AML/CFT Regulations To further strengthen its AML/CFT regime, Belarus requires financial institutions to adopt risk-based approaches to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Additional Measures Belarus has implemented a range of AML/CFT regulations, including:

Law on Combating Terrorism
Law on Prosecutor’s Office
Code of Administrative Offences

Effectiveness Overall, Belarus’ efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing have been recognized as effective by international organizations. The country’s tough laws and regulations provide a strong foundation for combating financial crime, and its law enforcement agencies are well-equipped to investigate and prosecute money laundering offenses.