OSCE-supported money laundering and terrorist financing national risk assessments completed in Skopje
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (FYROM) authorities presented a completed money laundering and terrorist financing national risk assessment (NRA) at a workshop organized by the OSCE and the World Bank on 11 September in Skopje.
Representatives from the private sector, financial oversight authorities and the judiciary presented their assessment of gaps in legislation, procedures and risks present in financial and non-financial services such as loans, stock market investments, insurance policies and real estate, as well as legal and accounting services.
The NRA seeks to improve national legislation, regulations and measures to address the challenges of money laundering and financing of terrorism. It brings together a wide range of private sector, investigative authorities, financial regulators and intelligence officials - each of whom play a critical role in combatting money laundering and terrorist financing.
“Assessing inherent risks, threats and vulnerabilities requires bringing together a wide range of private and public sector actors who are best placed to identify and assess which financial and non-financial services are most prone to abuse; what crimes such as corruption, terrorist financing, organized crime, and human trafficking are prevalent; laws to be amended; training courses, financial and human resources required to strengthen a money laundering and terrorist financing prevention system,” said OSCE Programme Officer at the Economic Co-operation and Governance Unit, Mato Meyer.
World Bank Senior Financial Sector Specialist Klaudijo Stroligo, said “We now have completed the final NRA workshop conducted in Croatia, Montenegro and FYORM, with technical support provided by the World Bank, the OSCE and the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX). We anticipate that the final NRA reports and accompanying action plans in all three states will be adopted by governments by the end of 2015.”
According to the 2012 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, all countries are required to undertake the NRA process. Upon its completion, states may begin allocating resources to the prevention of money laundering in identified high risk areas, adopt necessary legislative amendments, and undertake additional training for prevention officials in both the public and private sectors.
The OSCE has supported participating States, upon their request, in completing this exercise since 2012 and will continue its efforts in strengthening their anti-money laundering and terrorism financing systems.
Final workshops were previously organized in Zagreb, Croatia, in May 2015 and Podgorica, Montenegro, in June 2015.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
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