Slovakia Improves Money Laundering Detection, Says MONEYVAL Report

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Progress and Ratings

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has released a follow-up report praising Slovakia for its steady progress in measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. According to the report, Slovakia has upgraded its ratings from “partially compliant” to “largely compliant” in four areas:

• Risk assessment
• Suspicious transaction reporting
• Designation of a competent authority
• Maintaining comprehensive statistics

Shortcomings and Deficiencies

However, MONEYVAL downgraded Slovakia’s rating in the field of new technologies, specifically virtual assets. The country was previously rated as “largely compliant” but failed to meet international requirements for virtual currencies and their providers.

Positive Developments

The report highlights positive developments, including:

• Adoption of an action plan to manage and mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risks
• Addressing previous deficiencies in reporting suspicious transactions
• Establishing a competent authority to investigate money laundering cases
• Maintaining comprehensive statistical data

Remaining Deficiencies

Despite these improvements, some minor deficiencies remain, including:

• Lack of prioritization in mitigating money laundering and terrorist financing risks
• No obligations for the private sector to manage higher risks

Next Steps

Slovakia has been instructed to report back to MONEYVAL on further progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures within a year. The follow-up report emphasizes that Slovakia still needs to address some shortcomings, particularly in relation to virtual assets.

Full Report

The full report can be found on the MONEYVAL website, along with additional information on the country’s anti-money laundering efforts.