On 11 April, the Cabinet of Ministers took note of the information report prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, allowing Latvia to apply for the 6th evaluation round of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), which will give Latvia the opportunity to demonstrate internationally that Latvia has significantly improved its indicators in the area of anti-money laundering.
Currently, the only valid assessment of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) system is the MONEYVAL Fifth Round Assessment of Latvia in 2018 with its negative ratings. Latvia has invested significant resources over the last five years to make progress in improving the effectiveness of the AML/CFT system and is ready to apply for the MONEYVAL Sixth Round. Since 2018, Latvia has been developing a coordinated AML/CFT policy while strengthening the capacity of Latvian authorities in the area of anti-money laundering.
The implementation of a consistent AML/CFT policy is also evidenced by the current Action Plan for the Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorism and Proliferation Financing 2023-2025, prepared under the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Government on 13 December 2022. As a result, reports of several international organizations have already praised Latvia’s achievements in strengthening the AML/CFT system, confirming the need for reforms and improvements. At the same time, the practical experience and understanding of Latvian experts in MONEYVAL mutual evaluations, their procedures and methodologies has grown significantly.
MONEYVAL Member States’ experts are already developing the evaluation procedure and plan to start the sixth round of evaluations no earlier than October 2024, when the first on-site visit to a Member State could take place.
Prepared by:
Communication Department of the Ministry of the Interior
kn@iem.gov.lv
