The Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) of the Council of Europe organised three awareness-raising seminars with the sectors of obliged entities exposed to higher money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks, aiming to support the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) in their efforts to further improve compliance of these sectors with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) requirements. These events took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 24-25 September 2024.

The seminars gathered representatives from the real estate sector, legal professionals (notaries and lawyers), accountants, auditors, and tax advisors, aiming to enhance their awareness and understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks, typologies, and compliance obligations under Lithuania’s AML/CFT framework.

During the three seminars, which hosted 282 participants both in person and online, the Council of Europe experts provided detailed guidance on sector-specific ML/TF risks, customer due diligence measures, identification of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their source of wealth as well as on identifying ultimate beneficial owners. Discussions also covered practical approaches to identifying suspicious transactions and customer behaviours and provided advice for implementing measures to effectively mitigate ML/TF risks, with a view of international examples of good practices.

These awareness-raising events represent a significant step in strengthening AML/CFT compliance across Lithuania’s sectors exposed to higher ML/TF risks, providing private sector representatives with the practical advice on how to identify and manage ML/TF risks, ultimately aiming on enhancing the quality of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) submitted to the Lithuanian Financial Intelligence Unit and protecting the Lithuanian financial system from illicit money flows.

The event was organised within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument initiative “Strengthening Risk-Based AML/CFT Supervision in Lithuania”, funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and implemented by the Council of Europe.