Financial Crime World

Title: Romania’s AML/CFT Framework: Moderate Progress Against Financial Crimes according to Moneyval Report

Overview

  • Date of publication: July 18, 2023
  • Romania’s progress in strengthening its AML/CFT framework evaluated as moderate overall
  • Moneyval’s fifth round evaluation report

Key Findings

Strengths

  • Better understanding of money laundering risks
  • Access to an extensive range of financial, administrative, and law enforcement data
  • Effective confiscation of criminal proceeds
  • Banks and financial institutions have a good understanding of money laundering and terrorism financing risks

Weaknesses

  • Less clear grasp of financing terrorism risks
  • Lack of a comprehensive AML/CFT strategy
  • Limited human resources and technical resources allocated to the FIU
  • Effective communication and cooperation among various prosecutors’ offices lacking
  • Corruption and tax predicates laundering focus is on predicate crimes rather than laundering
  • Lack of reliable data and statistics hampering international cooperation

Moneyval’s Evaluation of Romania’s AML/CFT Framework

Progress since the last evaluation (2014)

  • Romania has taken significant steps to strengthen its AML/CFT framework
  • Better understand money laundering risks
  • Clearer grasp of financing terrorism risks still needed

Law Enforcement and Financial Intelligence

  • LEAs have access to extensive financial, administrative, and law enforcement data
  • Financial intelligence is not maximally utilized due to constraints

AML/CFT Strategy and Cooperation among Authorities

  • Lack of uniform approaches and methodologies
  • Ineffective communication, cooperation, and systematic coordination

Investigation and Prosecution of Financial Crimes

  • Proceeds from corruption and tax predicates laundering are adequately tackled
  • Focus on drug and human trafficking investigations instead of laundering proceeds

Confiscation of Criminal Proceeds

  • Effective measures to confiscate criminal proceeds
  • Struggles with confiscation in complex cases involving proceeds located abroad

FINs (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions) and Virtual Asset Service Providers

  • Banks and financial institutions display a good understanding of ML/TF risks
  • FINs and virtual asset service providers need education and resources
  • Greater understanding of the risk of misuse of legal persons than in Romania’s National Risk Assessment
  • Measures to prevent misuse of legal persons include public registries, but the level of risk remains underappreciated

Recommendations for Romania

Submission of a Follow-up Report

  • Expected to submit a follow-up report to Moneyval in May 2025.