Slovenia Shows Moderate Progress in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Despite moderate progress, Slovenia still faces significant challenges in implementing effective anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) measures.

Progress Made

According to the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL, Slovenia has made some improvements in its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The country:

• Updated its national risk assessment to include sectors such as virtual assets and non-profit organizations
• Adopted a new action plan to mitigate identified risks
• Increased staff allocation to high-risk areas

Deficiencies Remain

However, MONEYVAL notes that these measures have not been assessed in practice due to procedural limitations. Additionally, Slovenia still lags behind in addressing technical compliance deficiencies related to terrorism financing, including:

• Lack of adequate provisions for criminalizing terrorist financing activities
• Inadequate legal framework for combating terrorist financing

Next Steps

As a result, MONEYVAL has decided to apply its Compliance Enhancing Procedures (CEPs) with regard to Slovenia. The next step is to invite the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to send a letter to the country’s authorities requesting corrective measures.

• Slovenia will also remain under enhanced follow-up and is expected to report back on progress in one year

Conclusion

While Slovenia has made some improvements, there is still much work to be done to strengthen its AML/CFT measures. The country must continue to address legislative deficiencies and ensure effective implementation of anti-money laundering regulations.

References

MONEYVAL Report

The full report can be accessed on the Council of Europe’s website.