Croatia Makes Strides in Money Laundering Fight, According to MONEYVAL Report

Zagreb, Croatia - AML/CFT Framework Improvements

The latest report by the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) reveals Croatia’s significant progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Since the end of 2021, Croatia has:

• Amended AML/CFT legislation
• Enhanced customer due diligence measures
• Expanded powers for competent authorities
• Introduced a cash disclosure system
• Brought external accountants under AML/CFT obligations

Report Highlights

Croatia has made advances in:

1. Adopting a National Action Plan
2. Establishing a registration regime
3. Implementing fit and proper requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)

Additionally, improvements include:

• Beneficial ownership registers
• Streamlined access to information on legal persons
• Changes to sanctions for non-compliance with transparency requirements

Ratings and Classifications According to MONEYVAL

• 5 recommendations are fully met: Compliant
• 23 recommendations are largely met: Largely Compliant
• 12 recommendations need improvement: Partially Compliant

Re-rated Recommendations

Croatia has been upgraded in several areas:

• 10, 17, 22, 23, 32, and 40: Moved from Partially Compliant to Largely Compliant or Compliant
• 13: Moved from Partially Compliant to Compliant

Current Status

Despite demonstrating considerable progress, Croatia remains under MONEYVAL’s enhanced follow-up procedure and must report back in December 2024.

MONEYVAL is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe responsible for assessing compliance with international standards against money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and the financing of weapons of mass destruction. MONEYVAL evaluates 33 states and territories, providing recommendations for necessary improvements to their AML/CFT and counter-proliferation financing systems.

Current Member States

As of May 2022, MONEYVAL evaluates the following 33 states and territories:

• Albania
• Andorra
• Armenia
• Austria
• Belarus
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Georgia
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Kosovo
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Malta
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• United Kingdom