The core stakeholders of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) Project on “Enhancing the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering framework in Slovakia” met for the annual Project Advisory Board (PAB) Meeting on the 13th of February 2023. The meeting aimed to provide the PAB members with an overview of the Project’s implementation, discuss its intermediary results, challenges encountered, lessons learnt and needs for adjustment, as well as plans for the next project implementation period. 

Participants included representatives of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Police Force Praesidium, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the National Bank of Slovakia, the Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG-REFORM).

The Council of Europe Project team provided an overview of the current state of progress of the project, including completed and ongoing activities, and outlined the main planned and pending activities up to the end of the Project’s implementation period. These include a series of workshops on the application of sectoral risk assessment methodologies for high-risk sectors, capacity-building programmes for Law enforcement and judicial authorities on financial investigations and asset confiscation, and the provision of further guidance and advice in the area of money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessment, as well as strategic analysis. Exchanges with other European countries are also envisaged, to the extent allowed within the Project activities’ framework, in order to help reinforce mutual learning and regional cooperation.  

The Slovak beneficiary institutions presented their current priorities in the areas covered by the Project, in particular the new request for support with the application of the Council of Europe’s methodology for their next money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) National Risk Assessment (NRA). The Slovak authorities have indeed recently taken the decision to use this methodology, following recommendations received for the improvement of their previous ML/TF NRA Report, and requested assistance from the TSI Project in this endeavour, highlighting it as a high priority, along with the previously planned project activities. 

The ECCD and DG REFORM thanked all national stakeholders for their efforts in effectively engaging in the implementation of the project’s actions, and confirmed the possibility to support the launching and preparation of the new ML/TF NRA process – noting that the NRA development would unfold beyond the Project’s implementation period.  

The FIU and the other represented national authorities thanked the European Commission and the Council of Europe for the valuable support and sharp technical expertise provided in the framework of the project, and welcomed the excellent operational cooperation for the implementation of activities. All participants concluded by commending a fruitful PAB meeting and renewing their mutual commitment for collaboration towards their commonly set objectives. 

This meeting was held in the framework of the joint TSI Project on “Enhancing the effectiveness of the AML Framework in Slovakia” funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.