Heads of Financial Intelligence Units and representatives from 10 countries from the Western Balkans, including Greece and Bulgaria participated in the 14th annual meeting of Heads of FIUs which took place in Ohrid, North Macedonia on 3-4 October 2019. The participants in the event discussed the current status of the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism in the region with special focus on the regulation of virtual assets.

The EU/CoE Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime in the North Macedonia (AEC- MKD) contributed to the meeting through specific interventions on the subject of virtual assets and applicable international standards, delivered by a CoE consultant and member of the MONEYVAL Secretariat.

During the meeting the FIUs discussed the current AML/CFT risks in the region, as well as the current trends and challenges in relation to international cooperation. Representatives of the Economic Crime and Cooperation Division responsible for the implementation of the 3 beneficiary-specific (Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia) and regional Actions against Economic Crime, during the meeting presented the Regional component of the Horizontal Facility aimed at combating economic crime in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.