Title: MONEYVAL Urges Bulgaria to Strengthen Financial Intelligence, Investigation, and Prosecution to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

Strasbourg, France - In its new assessment report [1], the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, calls on Bulgaria to strengthen various measures to effectively counter money laundering and terrorism financing (AML/CFT).

Key Findings and Recommendations

The report underscores several areas where Bulgaria must improve, especially in the financial sector, beneficial ownership, and criminal justice response. Below are some of MONEYVAL’s recommendations:

1. Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)

   • Enhance the Bulgarian FIU’s (Finansova Intelligentna Usluga) organizational structure.
   • Improve its human and technical resources.
   • Grant the FIU broader access to databases and financial intelligence.

2. Investigation and Prosecution

   • Strengthen the legal framework for seizing and confiscating criminal proceeds.
   • Enhance the cooperation between law enforcement and financial sector authorities.

3. Beneficial Ownership

   • Expedite efforts to establish and maintain an accessible, transparent, and up-to-date beneficial ownership register.

4. Risk Assessment

   • Regularly conduct risk assessments and update the national risk assessment.

5. Training and Awareness-Raising

   • Devote more resources to training and awareness-raising initiatives for financial and law enforcement sectors.

By tackling these areas, Bulgaria can significantly strengthen its AML/CFT framework to ensure the effective prevention, detection, and prosecution of financial crimes.

Background

MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Committee, conducts evaluations and makes recommendations to member states to improve their AML/CFT frameworks.

[1] Access the entire MONEYVAL assessment report here.