Liechtenstein Makes Progress in Combating Money Laundering, But Needs Further Improvements

MONEYVAL Report Highlights Country’s Strengths and Weaknesses

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has published a report highlighting Liechtenstein’s progress in improving its measures to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. While the country has made significant strides, the report also identifies areas where further improvements are needed.

Key Findings

• Liechtenstein has demonstrated effectiveness in:
  • Understanding money laundering/terrorist financing risks
  • Setting national anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism policies
  • Coordinating efforts with other authorities
  • Using financial intelligence
  • Confiscating proceeds of crime
  • Investigating and prosecuting terrorist financing cases
  • Cooperating internationally
• However, MONEYVAL found that Liechtenstein needs to:
  • Strengthen supervision over entities assessed as presenting a high or medium-high risk
  • Improve application of anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism measures by the private sector
  • Increase transparency in beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements
  • Enhance money laundering investigations and prosecutions
• The report also notes that:
  • Liechtenstein’s competent authorities produce good quality financial intelligence, but more efforts are needed to investigate and prosecute money laundering cases involving foreign predicates
  • While the country’s private sector has a generally good understanding of money laundering/terrorist financing risks, there is still room for improvement

International Cooperation and Progress

• Liechtenstein’s cooperation with neighboring countries Switzerland and Austria was highlighted in the report, which noted that the country is well-equipped to detect and prevent terrorist financing
• The report concludes by noting that Liechtenstein will be subject to MONEYVAL’s regular follow-up reporting process as a result of the positive assessment, making it one of only five member-jurisdictions with this outcome so far

Accessing the Full Report

The full report can be accessed online. MONEYVAL officials have praised Liechtenstein for its efforts in improving its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism measures.