Combating Terrorism Financing in Croatia Gets Boost, Concludes MONEYVAL Report
Croatia has made significant strides in strengthening its preventive framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, according to a follow-up report released by the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL).
Progress in Improving Compliance
The report focuses on Croatia’s progress in improving compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations 1-24 and 32-40. Since December 2021, Croatia has taken numerous steps to enhance its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing systems.
Notable Improvements
- Amendments to AML/CFT legislation addressing shortcomings in customer due diligence measures, third-party reliance, and correspondent banking
- Introduction of a disclosure system for cash transportation
- Reinforced international cooperation powers of competent authorities
- Adoption of a national action plan
- Implementation of a registration regime and fit-and-proper requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs)
- Improved beneficial ownership registers
- Streamlined access to information on legal persons
- Changed sanctions for non-compliance with transparency requirements
Remedial Actions
While some recommendations remain partly compliant, including 1, 2, 15, and 24, Croatia has made significant progress in addressing technical compliance shortcomings. The country has been re-rated as largely compliant or compliant on several key recommendations, including:
- Recommendation 10
- Recommendation 17
- Recommendation 22
- Recommendation 23
- Recommendation 32
- Recommendation 40
Overall Progress
Overall, Croatia has made notable progress in strengthening its AML/CFT system, with:
- Five recommendations rated as compliant
- 23 recommendations rated as largely compliant
- 12 recommendations rated as partly compliant
Croatia remains under MONEYVAL’s enhanced follow-up procedure and is expected to report back on further progress by December 2024.
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 responsible for assessing compliance with international standards to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. MONEYVAL evaluates 33 states and territories and makes recommendations to national authorities to improve their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems.