Slovakia Strengthens Banking Regulations to Combat Financial Crime

Improved Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Terrorist Financing (CFT) Regime

In a significant move, Slovakia has tightened its regulations for financial institutions to combat financial crime and enhance its AML/CFT regime. The country’s efforts have been praised by MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe’s monitoring body responsible for assessing compliance with international standards to counter money laundering and terrorism financing.

Key Measures Introduced by Slovak Authorities

The key measures introduced since November 2022 include:

• Preventing associates of criminals from holding significant or controlling interests or management functions in banks and insurance undertakings
• Adopting risk assessment procedures for exchange offices and non-banking lenders
• Improving policies to review individual risk profiles for financial institutions

Progress Report

As a result, the Slovak Republic has made significant progress in addressing most of the technical compliance shortcomings identified in its 2020 report. Out of 40 Recommendations, the country currently scores:

• 5 Recommendations as Compliant
• 23 Recommendations as Largely Compliant
• 12 Recommendations as Partially Compliant

Future Efforts

The Slovak authorities are expected to submit a progress report to MONEYVAL by December 2024, outlining further efforts to strengthen its AML/CFT system.

About MONEYVAL

MONEYVAL evaluates 33 states and territories, making recommendations to national authorities on necessary improvements to their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing systems. The organization’s mission is to ensure that countries effectively implement international standards to combat financial crime and terrorism financing.