Moldova Urged to Improve Financial Crime Prevention Strategies

Call for Strengthened Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has released a report calling on Moldovan authorities to enhance their efforts in combating financial crimes. The report highlights the need for improved confiscation regimes and increased effectiveness in recovering proceeds from crime.

Key Findings and Recommendations

• Money Laundering Threats: Moldova faces significant money laundering threats driven by corruption, tax evasion, and smuggling within the country, as well as drug trafficking and human trafficking committed outside of Moldova.
• National Risk Assessment: While Moldova has developed a national risk assessment (NRA) in 2017, MONEYVAL notes that this assessment does not fully explore the risks associated with organized crime groups, non-profit organizations, and financing of terrorism.
• Investigated Cases and Convictions: The number of investigated money laundering cases has fluctuated over the review period due to high-profile cases, but convictions have increased. However, only a limited number of investigations led to prosecutions.
• Confiscated Assets: Figures on confiscated assets remain low compared to the scale of proceeds-generating crime in the country.

Progress and Areas for Improvement

MONEYVAL welcomes Moldova’s efforts to combat terrorist financing, with two investigations conducted and no evidence suggesting otherwise. However, the report notes that no prosecution or conviction for this specific offense was reached, consistent with the country’s risk profile.

Additionally, MONEYVAL identifies areas for improvement in supervising designated non-financial businesses and professions.

Follow-up Procedure

MONEYVAL invites Moldova to report back in 2021 under its enhanced follow-up procedure, which aims to monitor progress in addressing recommendations made in the report. The full report is available on the MONEYVAL website.