Financial Crime World

Financial Institution Risk Assessment Templates Key to Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

A high-level meeting was held in Monaco on November 12, bringing together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors to discuss progress on the Principality’s second National Risk Assessment (NRA2) process. The meeting aimed to provide an update on the country’s efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and corruption.

The NRA2 Assessment

The NRA2 assessment is a cross-cutting exercise that involves all stakeholders in Monaco’s economy and finance sector. According to Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, the goal is to identify vulnerabilities and provide guidelines for professionals to better understand anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) legislation.

Importance of Regulation

Castellini emphasized that regulation is not an enemy of business, but rather a prerequisite for confidence in Monaco’s banking and financial sector. He highlighted the importance of having robust regulations in place to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Key Speakers

The meeting featured remarks from several key speakers, including:

  • Robert Gelli, Secretary of Justice, who presented Monaco’s judicial policy in the AML/CFT field, highlighting the need for international cooperation and the criminalization of negligence in failing to comply with obligations imposed on professionals.
  • Police Commissioner Richard Marangoni, who discussed the scale of the challenge posed by recent terrorist attacks.
  • Thomas Brezzo, member of the National Council and Chair of the Legislation Committee, who noted the close cooperation between the assembly and the Government to ensure that Monaco’s legislation meets leading international standards.

Other Key Participants

Other key participants included:

  • Sophie Vatrican, Director of Budget and Treasury
  • Agnès Falco, UBS
  • Sérène El-Masri, UBP
  • Hervé Ordioni and Alain Ucari, Monaco Association for Financial Activities (AMAF)
  • Michel Dotta, Chairman of the Monaco Real Estate Chamber
  • Pascal Camia, SBM’s Games General Director
  • Jean-Philippe Ory, President of the Monaco Association of Compliance Officers (AMCO)
  • Claude Cardone, President of the Monegasque Association of Watchmaking and Jewellery
  • Philippe Ortelli, President of the Federation of Employers (FEDEM)
  • Daniel Coheur, Tokeny
  • Jean- Marc Gualandi, Eric Bergesi, and Benjamin Aouizerat, SICCFIN

Conclusion

Closing the meeting, Michel Hunault, Director of SICCFIN, thanked speakers and participants, and expressed hope that they would reconvene in spring 2021 to hear the conclusions of NRA2.