Back MONEYVAL calls for effective implementation of international standards to counter money laundering and terrorist financing in Europe

MONEYVAL calls for effective implementation of international standards to counter money laundering and terrorist financing in Europe

The Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL Committee has called on its 33 member states and territories to improve the effective implementation of international standards on combatting money laundering, the funding of terrorism and of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
In its annual report for 2023, MONEYVAL provides a comprehensive overview of the compliance trends in the states and jurisdictions subject to its evaluation procedures. 
It acknowledges that MONEYVAL member states and jurisdictions are making progress in certain areas, such as their understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, international cooperation and the use of financial intelligence.
However, major improvements are still necessary in the supervision of the financial sector, private sector compliance, transparency of legal persons, and the implementation of targeted sanctions for the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 
Although MONEYVAL countries have comprehensive legal frameworks and powers to prosecute money laundering, the report stresses that many struggle to achieve positive results in prosecuting and convicting perpetrators. Regarding the confiscation of criminal assets, the results remain modest and constitute an area for concern.
The report also highlights the need to provide appropriate protection to transborder personal data flows in the context of cooperation among jurisdictions.
Nicola Muccioli, Chair of MONEVYAL, said: “Despite progress over the years, significant additional efforts are needed to counter money laundering and terrorist financing. Most countries are not yet effectively tracing and recovering criminal assets and are challenged in matching the speed and sophistication of criminals’ methods”. 
“The launch of MONEYVAL’s 6th evaluation round will allow us to strengthen further the focus on monitoring the real effectiveness of the legal frameworks in place to combat the major risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. We can only make progress in fighting these crimes if the legislation and practices are implemented in practice”.
By the end of 2023, 20 of the 33 states and territories evaluated by MONEYVAL in the 5th-round of mutual evaluations were subject to its enhanced follow-up procedure for their limited level of compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards: Albania, Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Georgia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, Malta, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the UK Crown Dependency of the Isle of Man. Armenia, the Holy See, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Israel (the FATF and MONEYVAL jointly evaluated the latter) were subject to MONEYVAL’s regular follow-up procedure. The follow-up process of Ukraine was suspended in 2022.
In December 2024, MONEYVAL will adopt its last 5th round evaluation reports (on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Kingdom Crown Dependency of Guernsey). An onsite visit is scheduled in November to Latvia to prepare MONEYVAL’s first report under the 6th evaluation round, to be adopted in June 2025.
* * *
The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the effectiveness of their implementation. MONEYVAL evaluates 33 states and territories and makes recommendations to national authorities in respect of necessary improvements to their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing systems and to counter proliferation financing. 
 

Strasbourg 8 November 2024
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page