Financial Crime World

Croatia’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Receives Mixed Assessment

Zagreb, Croatia - The Croatian financial crimes enforcement network has received a mixed assessment from the global anti-money laundering watchdog, with some areas deemed “largely compliant” while others fall short.

FATF Report Highlights Compliance and Areas for Improvement

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued its follow-up report for Benin in 2023, which evaluated Croatia’s implementation of technical requirements aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The report assigned ratings to Croatia based on the country’s level of compliance with each recommendation.

Key Findings

  • Croatia received a “largely compliant” rating for several key areas:
    • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1)
    • National cooperation and coordination (R.2)
    • Money laundering offense (R.3)
    • Confiscation and provisional measures (R.4)
    • Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6)
    • Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation (R.7)
  • However, Croatia was found to be “partially compliant” in several areas:
    • Non-profit organisations (R.8)
    • Customer due diligence (R.10)
    • Record keeping (R.11)
    • Politically exposed persons (R.12)
    • Correspondent banking (R.13)
    • Money or value transfer services (R.14)
    • New technologies (R.15)
    • Wire transfers (R.16)
    • DNFBPs: Customer due diligence (R.22)
  • Croatia also received a “non-compliant” rating in several areas:
    • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons (R.24)
    • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements (R.25)

Areas for Improvement

The FATF report highlighted several areas where Croatia needs improvement, including:

  • Regulation and supervision of financial institutions (R.26)
  • Powers of supervisors (R.27)
  • Regulation and supervision of DNFBPs (R.28)
  • Responsibilities of law enforcement and investigative authorities (R.31)

Conclusion

While Croatia has made progress in implementing anti-money laundering measures, there are still areas where the country needs to improve to meet international standards. The FATF report provides a roadmap for Croatia’s financial crimes enforcement network to address these gaps and strengthen its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.