Financial Crime World

Bulgaria Strengthens Anti-Money Laundering Policies, Says Council of Europe Body

In its latest report, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) has commended Bulgaria for strengthening its measures to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Improved Compliance with FATF Recommendations

The report found that Bulgaria has improved its compliance with 10 of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Recommendations, including those on national cooperation and coordination, politically exposed persons, money or value transfer services, internal controls, foreign branches and subsidiaries, designated non-professional business and professions (DNFBPs), customer due diligence, transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements, regulation and supervision of financial institutions, powers of supervisors, cash couriers, and statistics.

Key Areas of Improvement

  • Bulgaria has strengthened its compliance with Recommendations 14 (on money or value transfer services) and 32 (on cash couriers).
  • Only minor deficiencies remain for other Recommendations concerning the areas described above.
  • The country’s rating has been upgraded to “largely compliant” from “partially compliant” in some areas.

Remaining Areas of Improvement

  • Correspondent banking and new technologies: Bulgaria remains partially compliant in these areas, where progress is still needed.

Overall Assessment

Out of the 40 applicable FATF Recommendations assessed in this report, Bulgaria is currently rated as:

  • Compliant or largely compliant with 27 Recommendations
  • Partially compliant with 13 Recommendations
  • Non-compliant with none

The country is expected to report back to MONEYVAL within one year’s time on its progress in strengthening its implementation of measures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

About MONEYVAL

The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe that evaluates 33 states and territories, making recommendations to national authorities to improve their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing systems.