On 20-22 November 2019, the Council of Europe launched the assessment of effective implementation of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive of the EU (Directive (EU) 2015/849) with an on-site visit to Budapest, Hungary. Hungary is the first EU Member State to be assessed within the project.

During the visit the assessment team met with representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Hungarian Financial Intelligence Unit, the National Bank of Hungary and other authorities as well as with representatives of the AML/CFT reporting entities in order to discuss the implementation of the major preventive measures of the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The substantial input of the Hungarian authorities and private sector and frank discussions contributed to a clear overview of the practical aspects of the implementation of the Directive, the best practices ensuring effectiveness and the remaining areas for improvement of the AML/CFT preventive system in Hungary.

The excellent cooperation provided by Hungary allowed the project team to evaluate the procedures and methodology used in the assessment, clarify the possibilities for synergies with other monitoring mechanisms in the AML/CFT field as well as bring the necessary amendments to streamline the process.