The first virtual meeting of the CoE/EU Project Enhancing capabilities of Bulgarian authorities to effectively mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risks took place on 30 July 2020. It was attended by the main beneficiaries in Bulgaria, namely the Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Unit (FID-SANS, a specialised directorate in the State Agency for National Security), the Financial Supervision Commission, the Bulgarian National Bank, the Ministry of Interior and the Bulgarian Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office, as well as the European Commission Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), and the Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD).

The meeting served as a platform to discuss the updates of the AML/CTF system in the country and agree on ways forward with activities. The current effort represents a follow-up to the assistance already provided by the Council of Europe to the authorities on conducting the Bulgarian National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment (NRA) completed by Bulgaria in November 2019. The project aims to continue this process by supporting the adoption and implementation of necessary money laundering and terrorist financing risk mitigation measures across specific sectors.

In the short-term, the project will focus on supporting the authorities with developing a National AML/CFT Action Plan, the next step of the NRA.

The activity was organised within the framework of the Structural Reform Support Programme initiative “Enhancing Capabilities of Bulgarian Authorities to Effectively Mitigate Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risks”, funded by the European Commission Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.