Financial Crime World

Bulgaria Takes Significant Steps in Combating Financial Terrorism, Says Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL Report

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The Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL Committee has released a follow-up report concluding that Bulgaria has made significant improvements in its measures to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Strengthened Compliance with Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendations

According to the report, Bulgaria has strengthened its compliance with 10 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, including:

  • National cooperation and coordination
  • Politically exposed persons
  • Money or value transfer services
  • Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries
  • Designated non-professional business and professions customer due diligence
  • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements
  • Regulation and supervision of financial institutions
  • Powers of supervisors
  • Cash couriers
  • Statistics

Progress Made in Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing Systems

The report highlights that Bulgaria has taken numerous steps to strengthen its anti-money laundering (AML) and combating terrorist financing (CFT) systems over the past two years, with only minor deficiencies remaining for other Recommendations in the 2022 report.

Assessment of Bulgarian Legislation

Bulgarian legislation has been assessed as:

  • Compliant or largely compliant with 27 out of 40 FATF Recommendations
  • Partially compliant with 13 recommendations
  • No Recommendations have failed to comply

Commitment to Implementing Effective Measures

This development is a significant step forward in the country’s efforts to combat financial terrorism and money laundering, demonstrating its commitment to implementing effective measures to prevent these threats.

Conclusion

Bulgaria’s progress in combating financial terrorism and money laundering is a positive step towards strengthening its AML/CFT systems. The country will continue to be placed under enhanced follow-up and will be required to report back to MONEYVAL on its progress within one year.