Financial Crime World

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Monaco Urged to Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Measures

A recent report by the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has called on Monaco to improve its efforts to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. The report highlights several areas where the principality needs to strengthen its measures.

Areas for Improvement

The report identifies several key areas that require improvement:

  • Investigating and Prosecuting Money Laundering Cases: While Monaco has made some progress in understanding money laundering risks, there are still significant gaps in its ability to identify and prosecute these crimes.
  • Confiscation and Recovery of Proceeds of Crime: Major improvements are needed to enhance effectiveness on confiscation and recovery of proceeds of crime.
  • Supervisory System: Monaco’s supervisory system needs to be fundamentally improved, including strengthening beneficial ownership checks and applying tailored supervision for obliged entities.

Transparency and Understanding

The report also criticizes Monaco’s lack of transparency regarding:

  • Legal Persons: Including trusts and virtual assets, which poses significant risks in terms of money laundering.
  • Financial Intelligence Unit (SICCFIN): Despite producing high-quality analysis, SICCFIN lacks human and technical resources.

Private Sector

The report notes that while some obliged entities are implementing anti-money laundering measures, there is still a lack of understanding and compliance in certain sectors:

  • Casinos and Jewelers: These sectors need to improve their reporting of suspicious transactions.
  • Obligated Entities: There is still a lack of understanding and compliance among obligated entities.

Commendations

The report commends Monaco for reforming its framework to implement United Nations targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and proliferation financing. However, it notes that there have been no prosecutions or convictions for terrorist financing in the country.

Next Steps

Based on the results of its evaluation, MONEYVAL has decided to apply its enhanced follow-up procedure and invited Monaco to report back in December 2024.