Moldova Fails to Meet Key Requirements for Financial Crimes Reporting

Progress and Challenges in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

The Republic of Moldova has made significant progress in strengthening its legal and institutional framework to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, according to a follow-up report released by MONEYVAL. However, the country still requires substantial improvement.

Key Findings:

• Progress in addressing technical compliance deficiencies: Moldova has made notable progress in implementing targeted financial sanctions against terrorism and its financing.
• Limited progress in virtual assets and service providers: The country has not adequately implemented FATF standards on virtual assets and service providers, leading to concerns about money laundering and terrorism financing risks.

Recommendations and Ratings

MONEYVAL has re-rated several key recommendations, with:

• Recommendations 6 and 7 now rated as Largely Compliant
• Recommendation 15 classified as Partially Compliant

The report emphasizes that Moldova has not achieved the expected level of compliance within three years after the adoption of the mutual evaluation report in July 2019.

Call to Action

MONEYVAL urges the authorities to address these shortcomings by June 2025 and remains in enhanced follow-up, expecting a progress update from Moldova within one year.

Current Status

• Compliant on nine out of 40 FATF recommendations
• Largely Compliant on 25 recommendations
• Partially Compliant on six recommendations

The full report can be accessed at [insert link].

MONEYVAL is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe responsible for evaluating compliance with international standards to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The organization assesses 33 states and territories and makes recommendations to national authorities on necessary improvements to their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems.