According to a follow-up MONEYVAL report published on Monday, Romania has improved its level of technical compliance with two recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regarding the application of targeted financial sanctions against terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
For both recommendations, the country has now been assessed as “largely compliant.”
In addition, experts noted limited progress in implementing recommendations concerning national coordination, the activities of nongovernmental organizations, legislation on bank secrecy, oversight of politically exposed persons (PEPs), transparency of information on the beneficial owners of legal entities, as well as the collection of statistics necessary to assess the effectiveness of the system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Most recommendations have not been fully implemented
According to the results of the new assessment, Romania fully complies with seven of the FATF’s 40 recommendations. The country is deemed “largely compliant” with another 20 recommendations and “partially compliant” with 13.
At the same time, the report no longer lists any recommendations with a “non-compliant” status, which indicates a gradual strengthening of the national system for combating financial crimes.
Despite the progress made, MONEYVAL has decided to keep Romania under enhanced follow-up monitoring. Within a year, the country’s authorities must submit a new report on further measures to improve the system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
MONEYVAL is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe and a regional branch of the FATF. The committee assesses states’ compliance with international standards in the areas of combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the effectiveness of their practical implementation.
