24th May 2023, Strasbourg – Republic of North Macedonia continuously upgrades and develops the system for preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism by adhering to the international standards and undertaking a number of initiatives, all to the end of their prompt and more efficient implementation as our strategic goal. Along this road, MONEYVAL Committee plays a key role in creating a more efficient system, Deputy Minister of Finance, Filip Nikoloski pointed out. He is heading the Delegation of North Macedonia at the MONEYVAL 65th Plenary Meeting, which takes place in Strasbourg at the seat of the Council of Europe. Draft Report on Evaluation of the System of Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism of the Republic of North Macedonia was adopted at the respective Meeting.
“We appreciate MONEYVAL efforts for the detailed evaluation of our system and the recommended activities aimed at upgrading the national system for preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism,” Deputy Minister said. He highlighted the importance and the relevance of this Meeting and expressed gratitude for MONEYVAL’s support and dedication throughout the whole evaluation process. The report, as he emphasized, will be a roadmap to follow for strengthening the system in future.
North Macedonia’s membership in MONEYVAL is an opportunity for the country to keep pace with the changes in the international legislation in the field of anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism and their transposition in the national legislation, design measures for adequate response to the new trends and forms of money laundering and financing of terrorism, as well as introduce effective mechanisms for national and international cooperation between the competent national and foreign authorities, all to the end of preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism as criminal phenomenon undermining the stability of the financial system. To efficiently combat this phenomenon, role of the institutions involved in its prevention is crucial, as is the strengthening of their capacities, in particular the capacities of the Financial Intelligence Office to detect and efficiently act upon. To that end, a modern platform is implemented in the Office, intended for the entities which apply measures and undertake action for prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism.
The process, which was launched in December 2021, was finalized with the adoption of the Draft Report on Evaluation of the System of Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism of the Republic of North Macedonia. This is 5th round of evaluation process of North Macedonia, evaluating the technical compliance with FATF recommendations, i.e. our legal and institutional framework and efficiency of the system by implementing the legal competences, and the results achieved.
Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is an independent monitoring mechanism, with 47 Member States, within the Council of Europe answerable directly to the Committee of Ministers. MONEVYAL is entrusted with the task of assessing its members’ compliance with the international standards to counter money laundering and financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as making recommendations to the national authorities on the ways to improve their systems.
Representatives from the relevant institutions in the country involved in the process, such as: Financial Intelligence Office, Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, Ministry of the Internal Affairs, National Bank of North Macedonia, Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Supervision Agency and Central Registry, take part in the Plenary Meeting in Strasbourg.
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