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Moldova’s Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Receive Boost as MONEYVAL Upgrades Country’s Ratings

The Republic of Moldova has made significant strides in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, according to a recent report by the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL. The country’s efforts have earned it improved ratings in several key areas, with MONEYVAL upgrading its compliance level from “partially compliant” to “largely compliant”.

Improvements in Key Areas

Moldova has made improvements in four key areas:

• Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions: Moldova has expanded the scope of entities required to conduct customer due diligence.
• Customer Due Diligence: The country has addressed previously identified deficiencies related to high-risk countries.
• Politically Exposed Persons: Requirements for financial institutions dealing with politically exposed persons have been strengthened.
• Higher-Risk Countries: Moldova has improved its requirements for handling transactions involving higher-risk countries.

Minor Shortcomings

While Moldova’s efforts have yielded significant improvements, MONEYVAL’s report also highlighted some minor shortcomings:

• Definition of “Close Associates”: A clearer definition is needed for “close associates” of politically exposed persons.
• Customer Due Diligence Requirements: Some sectors require additional clarity on customer due diligence requirements.

Virtual Assets

Moldova fell short of meeting new international standards for virtual assets, which cover prominent virtual currencies and their providers. As a result, MONEYVAL downgraded Moldova’s rating from “largely compliant” to “non-compliant”.

Next Steps

Moldova is expected to provide an update on its progress in strengthening anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures within the next year.

Full Report Available

The full report is available online at [link].