Crypto-assets have grown rapidly in recent years, offering new ways to transfer and store value, but also new opportunities for criminals to move illicit funds across borders quickly and with relative anonymity. Without proper oversight, the sector can become an attractive gap for money laundering and terrorism financing, undermining the integrity of the wider financial system. Effective regulation and supervision of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) are therefore essential to build trust in crypto markets as they become a more established part of the financial landscape.
As the Republic of Moldova is progressing with adopting the legislation to regulate the crypto-asset market, the institutions responsible for preventing money laundering and terrorism financing are preparing for a new supervisory role. Bringing CASPs into the regulatory framework will create new responsibilities, along with the need to understand where risks lie, where to focus attention and resources, and how institutions can work together effectively.
On 5-6 August, with support from the Council of Europe project “Action against money laundering and terrorism financing in the Republic of Moldova”, representatives of the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, the National Bank of Moldova and the National Commission for Financial Market gathered for a two-day workshop to explore how risk-based anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision of CASPs can work in practice. They discussed coordination of authorisation and supervisory responsibilities between different authorities, assessing of risks and designing supervisory system.
Turning risk assessments into real supervisory choices was one of the areas participants found most useful. Ms Daniela Șoimu, Senior Economist at the National Bank of Moldova’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Directorate, highlighted the practical value of the exercises: “What I found particularly useful was seeing how an entity’s risk profile translates into supervisory priorities, planning and the allocation of resources. The exercises gave me concrete ideas and reference points that I can use in future AML/CFT inspections.”
The workshop followed that journey from identifying risk to deciding what to do about it. Participants discussed which supervised entities may need closer attention, where to focus resources and how to choose the most appropriate response. They also explored what authorities can do when they identify shortcomings and how stronger co-operation can make supervision more consistent and effective across the whole crypto-assets sector.
That connection with day-to-day work also resonated with Mr Lilian Cristiuc, Head of the Compliance and Inspection Division at the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering: “Theory is important, but what really helps is working through a concrete case and looking for a practical solution. I found many of the ideas useful not only for crypto supervision, but for our supervisory work more broadly.”
Following two days of the workshop, participants advanced their knowledge and practical skills in assessing risks, designing supervisory decisions and developing institutional co-operation. As Moldova has set an ambitious goal of creating a legal framework for crypto-assets by the end of 2026, the workshop constituted an important step in getting the relevant institutions prepared by developing the knowledge, tools and working relationships they will need to make the new system work effectively.
The activity was organised within the framework of the project “Action against money laundering and terrorism financing in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by a grant from the U.S. Government".