MACEDONIA: Strengthening Financial Sanctions Enforcement Agencies Against Economic Crimes

Joint Project Between the European Union and the Council of Europe Launched

A joint project between the European Union and the Council of Europe has been launched to strengthen financial sanctions enforcement agencies in Macedonia, with the aim of preventing and combating economic crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing. The program will run from May 24, 2016 to May 23, 2019.

Objectives

The program has several specific objectives:

Improving legislation and adopting an anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) national strategy
Building capacity for the Financial Intelligence Office (FIO)
Strengthening the capacities of judiciary, prosecution, and law enforcement agencies to fight money laundering and terrorism financing
Improving the country’s AML/CFT preventive system

Expected Results

The project is expected to achieve several results:

Reviewing and implementing a regulatory framework for whistleblower protection and reporting
Reinforcing the AML/CFT system through improved legal and regulatory frameworks
Adopting an AML/CFT strategy observing new international standards
Improving the capacities of the FIO, judiciary, prosecution, and law enforcement agencies
Enhancing international cooperation capacities

Implementation Details

The project will be implemented by:

Financial Investigation Unit
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Justice
State Audit Office

With a budget of 1,350,000 EUR provided by the European Union and the Council of Europe.

Program Coordination

The program is being coordinated by:

Ilina GAREVSKA, Senior Project Officer
Mustafa FERATI, Head of Unit, Action against Crime Department

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union.