Financial Crime World

Monaco’s Crusade Against Financial Crime: A Look into the Principality’s Measures

Monaco, the glamorous European microstate known for its luxurious casinos and high-rolling lifestyles, is also dedicated to a less glamorous but equally essential mission: combatting financial crime. In this article, we’ll explore Monaco’s commitment to upholding financial integrity, as assessed in a recent evaluation report by the Council of Europe’s Moneyval committee (MONEYVAL).

Monaco’s Progress in Curbing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

In March 2022, the MONEYVAL evaluation report scrutinized Monaco’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system, assessing the country’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations.

  • Strengthened risk assessment framework: Monaco made significant progress in addressing potential vulnerabilities since the previous evaluation in 2019. The principality strengthened its risk assessment framework, making it more effective in identifying and mitigating money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
  • Customer due diligence requirements: Monaco implemented more stringent customer due diligence requirements to prevent financial crimes.
  • Improved financial intelligence unit: Monaco upgraded its legislative framework by transposing all FATF recommendations into national law and enhancing its financial intelligence unit’s capabilities. These improvements enable better analysis and investigation of potential financial crimes.

Ongoing Challenges

Despite these accomplishments, Monaco still faces challenges:

  • Operational capacity of financial intelligence unit: The principality needs to enhance its financial intelligence unit’s operational capacity.
  • Regulatory oversight: Monaco needs to expand its regulatory oversight to cover non-financial sectors vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

Monaco’s Commitment to International Cooperation

Monaco demonstrated a commitment to international cooperation through its membership in various global organizations dedicated to combatting financial crimes, including the FATF. The country continues to collaborate with these organizations to address challenges and further strengthen its AML/CFT framework.

Conclusion

Monaco’s dedication to fortifying its regulatory framework against financial crimes stands as a testament to its commitment to upholding the international community’s financial integrity. Despite ongoing challenges, Monaco’s progress in addressing potential vulnerabilities serves as a model for other jurisdictions.