Macedonia’s Fight Against Money Laundering: A Long Way to Go

======================================================

In a recent report, examiners have highlighted the need for urgent action by the Government of Macedonia to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The country’s legal framework is woefully inadequate, and its authorities are failing to implement key measures to prevent these crimes.

Inadequate Legal Framework

Macedonia’s international commitments, including its membership in various treaties and conventions, are not being effectively implemented. Specifically, the Vienna Convention and the Strasbourg Conventions require significant legislative amendments to ensure their full implementation.

The country’s legal system has some useful provisions regarding legal assistance, enforcement of foreign criminal judgments, and extradition.
However, these measures are difficult to assess, and several areas require clarification or improvement.
- For instance, the laundering of proceeds from a predicate offence committed abroad should be a criminal offense in Macedonia, with clear rules governing the level of evidence.

Investigation and Prosecution

The examiners have also identified issues regarding the investigation and prosecution of Macedonian nationals who have committed offenses abroad, particularly money laundering. The authorities must ensure that:

Confiscation measures can be used in mutual assistance requests.
Review conditions for enforcing foreign confiscation judgments are improved.

Banking Secrecy Provisions

Banking secrecy provisions are too rigid, making it difficult to provide investigative assistance. The examiners suggest reviewing these provisions to ensure that bank secrecy does not hinder international cooperation.

Operational Challenges

The lack of a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the absence of specialized units in criminal police departments are significant impediments to effective money laundering investigations. Therefore, the establishment of an FIU with necessary powers is urgently needed.

Clarify the distribution of powers between judiciary, prosecution services, and police forces.
Ensure that those responsible for investigating money laundering cases have the necessary specialization and resources.

The sharing of information among law enforcement bodies and institutions is also critical. Obstacles to interagency cooperation must be removed, and mechanisms put in place to facilitate effective exchanges of information.

Conclusion

Macedonia has a long way to go in developing its approach to combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The Government must take urgent action to implement necessary measures, establish an FIU, clarify powers, and improve interagency cooperation. Anything less will undermine the country’s efforts to combat these serious crimes.

Finally, the examiners welcome the draft anti-money laundering bill prepared by a committee under the Ministry of Finance, which addresses several legal problems raised during the assessment. However, they stress that other legislation, including the Constitution, Criminal Procedure Code, National Bank Act, and Banks and Savings Houses Act, must be amended to ensure a firm basis for addressing money laundering.