Financial Crime World

Romania Urged to Strengthen Measures Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

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A recent report published by MONEYVAL, a global anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) body, has called on Romania to take further action to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the country’s level of compliance with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Progress Made, but Further Efforts Needed

According to the report, since 2014, when MONEYVAL last evaluated Romania, the country has made progress in strengthening its legal and institutional framework to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. However, the report notes that Romania still needs to take additional measures to effectively investigate and prosecute money laundering cases.

Key Findings and Recommendations

  • Investigation and Prosecution: The authorities have yet to pursue the investigation and prosecution of money laundering as a priority overall, with investigations and prosecutions often focusing on predicate offences rather than the laundering of criminal proceeds.
  • Freezing, Seizing, and Confiscating Assets: Romania needs to strengthen its ability to freeze, seize, and confiscate the proceeds and instrumentalities of domestic crime.
  • Financial Investigations: The report recommends that Romania improve the capacity of financial investigators to carry out parallel financial investigations and pursue asset recovery.
  • National Strategy and Training: The country is encouraged to develop an overarching national strategy and action plan to counter terrorist financing and provide further relevant training.

Supervision and Private Sector Engagement

The report notes that while Romania has a sound legal framework in place for implementing targeted financial sanctions, there are concerns about the implementation of those measures by the private sector and regarding the adequacy of supervision. MONEYVAL recommends that the authorities:

  • Improve the calibration of their supervisory actions with risk
  • Increase resourcing of the National Office for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering
  • Develop existing controls to ensure that information held in public registers is accurate and up-to-date

Next Steps

Romania is expected to report back to MONEYVAL under the enhanced follow-up reporting process in May 2025. The country will need to demonstrate significant progress in addressing the remaining gaps and concerns identified by MONEYVAL.