Financial Crime World

Croatia Strengthens Fight Against Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing

In a recent report, the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) has concluded that Croatia has taken significant steps to improve its measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Progress Made

Since December 2021, Croatia has implemented various reforms aimed at strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) systems. The country has made progress in addressing technical compliance shortcomings identified in its 2021 Mutual Evaluation Report.

  • AML/CFT legislation was amended to address significant shortcomings, including customer due diligence measures, third-party reliance, and correspondent banking.
  • External accountants were brought under the scope of AML/CFT obligations.
  • A disclosure system for the incoming and outgoing transportation of cash was introduced.

Improved National Action Plan and Registration Regime

The country has also seen improvements in its national action plan, registration regime, fit and proper requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), beneficial ownership registers, and streamlined access to information on legal persons. Additionally, changes were made to sanctions for non-compliance with transparency requirements.

Recommendations Status

While recommendations 1, 2, 15, and 24 remain rated Partly Compliant, Croatia has been re-rated on recommendations 10, 17, 22, 23, 32, and 40 from Partially Compliant to Largely Compliant. Recommendation 13 was upgraded from Partially Compliant to Compliant.

  • Croatia now has a total of five Recommendations rated Compliant.
  • 23 Recommendations are rated Largely Compliant.
  • 12 Recommendations are rated Partially Compliant out of the 40 FATF 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 in 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 of weapons of mass destruction. The organization makes recommendations to national authorities to improve their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems.