Croatia Strengthens Anti-Money Laundering Measures, Says MONEYVAL Report
The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) has released a follow-up report concluding that Croatia has made significant progress in strengthening its preventive framework to combat money laundering.
Compliance with FATF Recommendations
Croatia’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, which aim to prevent the misuse of financial systems for illegal activities, was evaluated by MONEYVAL. Since December 2021, Croatia has taken numerous steps to improve its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) systems.
Notable Changes
Notable changes include:
- Amendments to AML/CFT legislation addressing significant shortcomings in customer due diligence measures, third-party reliance, and correspondent banking
- Introduction of a disclosure system for the incoming and outgoing transportation of cash
- Reinforced international cooperation powers of competent authorities
Progress Made
The report highlights Croatia’s progress in adopting a national action plan, introducing a registration regime and fit-and-proper requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), improving beneficial ownership registers, and streamlining access to information on legal persons. Additionally, changes were made to sanctions for non-compliance with transparency requirements.
Remaining Recommendations
While some recommendations remain rated Partly Compliant, Croatia has seen significant improvements in its AML/CFT system. The country now has five recommendations rated Compliant, 23 Largely Compliant, and 12 Partially Compliant out of a total of 40 recommendations.
Next Steps
Croatia remains under MONEYVAL’s enhanced follow-up procedure and is expected to report back on further progress made towards strengthening its AML/CFT system by December 2024.
About MONEYVAL
MONEYVAL is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe that evaluates compliance with international standards to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. The organization assesses the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems in 33 states and territories and provides recommendations for necessary improvements.