An Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Training and Awareness Centre could be set up in the Republic of Moldova. The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau hosted a round table to discuss this possibility. The event brought together national authorities, international experts, private sector representatives and other stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with the creation of such a centre.

The event explored Republic of Moldova’s needs in this area, analysed examples of international best practices that could guide the development process, as well as the mandate of such a centre in Moldova. The experts stressed the importance of a centre that would provide accredited training and support the creation of a sound compliance environment through awareness raising and continuous training of the authorities and entities involved.

According to the Director of the Service for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, Andrian Munteanu, in 2025, a great emphasis will be placed on improving the effectiveness of the AML system, and a training centre in this area will be able to address certain vulnerabilities that may hinder the effective functioning of the AML/CFT system.

The workshop served as a starting point for the elaboration of a roadmap, a task that will fall to the Prevention and Combating Money Laundering Service, assisted by Council of Europe experts, which will outline clear steps for the establishment of the training and awareness-raising centre in the Republic of Moldova and to ensure its functionality.

This is an important step in strengthening the Republic of Moldova's capacity to combat financial crime and to align national measures with international standards.

The event was organized by the Council of Europe's project “Enhancing the anti-money laundering and asset recovery regime in the Republic of Moldova" in Chisinau. It is implemented under the third phase of intervention of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Partnership for Good Governance" (PGG III) program, which aims to support the Eastern Partnership countries in the fight against economic crime at national and regional level.