Financial Crime World

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San Marino Struggles to Curb Financial Crime

A recent report has painted a bleak picture of San Marino’s efforts to combat financial crime, highlighting significant shortcomings in the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.

Insufficient Measures Against Money Laundering

According to the report, San Marino is struggling to meet international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), with several key recommendations falling short. The country scored poorly on issues such as:

  • Non-profit organization regulation: San Marino’s laws and regulations do not provide sufficient oversight of non-profit organizations, making it difficult to prevent money laundering through these entities.
  • Financial institution secrecy laws: The country’s banking secrecy laws hinder efforts to combat financial crime by allowing institutions to maintain confidentiality over their clients’ transactions.
  • Beneficial ownership transparency: San Marino has failed to establish effective mechanisms for identifying and disclosing the beneficial owners of companies, making it challenging to track suspicious transactions.

Weaknesses in Anti-Terrorism Financing Efforts

The report also cited a lack of effective measures to prevent money laundering through cash couriers, as well as inadequate statistics on financial crimes. San Marino has also failed to meet international standards for:

  • Targeting terrorist financing offenses: The country’s laws and regulations do not provide sufficient tools to detect and disrupt terrorist financing activities.
  • Confiscating assets related to terrorism: San Marino has not established effective mechanisms for seizing and confiscating assets linked to terrorist organizations or individuals.

Room for Improvement in International Cooperation

While the report noted that San Marino had made progress in mutual legal assistance and extradition, there is still room for improvement. The country will need to enhance its cooperation with international partners to effectively combat financial crime.

Call to Action: Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering Regulations

As the report highlights the need for San Marino to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, officials in the country will be under pressure to address these shortcomings and improve their ratings in the next assessment.