The project on “Enhancing the anti-money laundering and asset recovery regime in the Republic of Moldova” is one of the six projects which constitute the third phase of the European Union and the Council of Europe (EU/CoE) Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) programme interventions to support the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) to counter economic crime.

As the first bi-lateral project against economic crime in the Republic of Moldova implemented under Partnership for Good Governance, it is predicated on the Council of Europe’s technical assistance results in recent years aimed at supporting the country’s policy and legal frameworks, practices and operational tools to counter corruption and money laundering. These interventions include the EU/CoE joint project on “Controlling Corruption through Law Enforcement and Prevention (CLEP)” and the “Action against Corruption-Phase I and Phase II”. Furthermore, the Moldovan institutions have also benefited from regional actions against economic crime under the PGG Phase I and II.

The project is designed to respond to the current needs and deficiencies as identified by MONEYVAL and in the obligations contained in the European Commission Opinion on the Republic of Moldova’s application for membership of the European Union. Complementarity will be ensured with the existing National Strategy and the related Action Plan for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing 2020-2025 and any future updates of strategic documents. The project is also aligned with Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024, also intended to support the country’s efforts in the fields of anti-corruption and anti-money laundering.