Financial Crime World

Slovenia Struggles to Eradicate Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Despite making significant progress in tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, Slovenia still faces numerous challenges, according to a recent report by the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL.

Progress Made

The country has improved its rating on several fronts since the adoption of its latest mutual evaluation report in 2017. Positive strides have been made in implementing its sanctioning regime for terrorism financing, earning Slovenia a higher international compliance rating. Additionally, authorities have:

  • Regulated non-profit organizations more effectively
  • Strengthened correspondent banking relationships
  • Improved supervision and prevented money laundering risks associated with politically exposed persons

Challenges Remain

However, the emergence of new international requirements has led MONEYVAL to re-examine Slovenia’s situation against these new standards. The report notes that while some progress has been made in implementing requirements for virtual assets, including prominent cryptocurrencies and specific service providers, significant deficiencies remain.

Key Areas of Concern

Slovenia currently meets 11 out of 40 FATF Recommendations, which set the international anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standard. The country still faces:

  • Minor deficiencies in implementing 25 recommendations
  • Larger-scale issues with four areas:
    • National risk assessment
    • Terrorism financing offence
    • Virtual assets
    • Cash couriers

Next Steps

As a result, MONEYVAL has decided to maintain Slovenia’s enhanced follow-up process and will require the country to report back on its progress within the next year. The report was adopted by the 61st MONEYVAL Plenary meeting held in Strasbourg last month.

Conclusion

While Slovenia has made significant progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, it still faces numerous challenges, particularly when it comes to mitigating risks related to virtual currencies. To address these deficiencies, the country must continue to work towards implementing international standards and best practices in this area.