Hungary’s Progress in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: MONEYVAL Upgrades Ratings

Recognition of Hungary’s Improvements

Strasbourg, 8 June 2022 - The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has upgraded Hungary’s ratings in the following areas in recognition of the country’s improvements in combating money laundering and terrorist financing:

Correspondent banking relationships
Internal controls at financial institutions
Transparency and beneficial ownership (BO) of legal persons

Focus on Enhancements

The new MONEYVAL follow-up report focuses on Hungary’s enhancements in these areas, which have led to better addressing of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.

Assessment of Revised Measures

An assessment of Hungary’s revised legislative, regulatory, and institutional measures revealed significant progress. A few points of improvement are:

Enhancements in correspondent banking relationships
Improvements in internal controls at financial institutions
Strengthened transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons

Timeframe for Compliance

Hungary has now fully complied with five of the 40 FATF Recommendations and has met the general expectation set out by MONEYVAL for countries addressing most, if not all, technical compliance deficiencies within five years after receiving a mutual evaluation report.

Challenges Remain

Although there has been substantial progress, some challenges still exist in areas classified as “largely compliant,” which include 32 FATF Recommendations. Three Recommendations remain “partially compliant,” such as:

Non-profit organizations
New technologies
Cash couriers

Future Actions

Hungary will continue to be under enhanced follow-up and will report back to MONEYVAL on strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures within two years.

MONEYVAL Press Release

MONEYVAL Press Release: “Hungary shows significant improvement in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing, earning upgraded ratings”