Monaco Urged to Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Measures by Europe’s Anti-Laundering Body
MONEYVAL’s Scathing Report on Monaco’s Compliance with AML/CFT Recommendations
In a highly critical report released on January 23, 2023, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, called on Monaco to bolster its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF). The report assesses Monaco’s level of compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations as of March 2022.
Key Concerns and Recommendations
Transparency of Legal Persons and Beneficial Ownership
- Acknowledges progress but notes significant room for improvement
- Limited understanding of risks in sectors like casinos, company services providers, trusts, and virtual assets
- Urges Monaco to impose more dissuasive sanctions for non-compliance
ML Investigations and Prosecutions
- Commends Monaco for identifying ML risks but concerned about limited resources of SICCFIN
- Highlights Monaco’s reluctance to prosecute ML cases effectively
- Urges prioritizing, seizing, confiscating, and recovering proceeds of ML and predicate offenses
Supervisory System
- Identifies issues with BO fit and proper checks and the lack of proportionate sanctions for non-compliance
- Calls for awareness-raising and supervision measures, especially in the non-profit sector
Risk-Based Approach and International Cooperation
- Acknowledges some progress with targeted financial sanctions
- Criticizes initial risk assessment of the non-profit sector
- Urges Monaco to improve international cooperation capacities
MONEYVAL’s Call to Action
Based on the evaluation results, MONEYVAL decided to apply its enhanced follow-up procedure and invited Monaco to report back in December 2024.