Within the framework of the Joint Council of Europe/European Commission Technical Support Instrument (TSI) initiative on “Developing a risk-based methodology for an automatic anti-money laundering/counter terrorist (AML/CFT) financing risk categorisation for supervised entities in Portugal”, the Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) has been providing support to Banco de Portugal (BdP) representatives with further enhancing the institution’s Methodology for AML/CFT risk-based supervision. For instance, targeted technical assistance has been provided in developing a new annual questionnaire that will be used for gathering data from obliged entities under BdP’s supervision. The draft questionnaire is accompanied by a comprehensive list of weightings for various inherent risk factors as well as for the AML/CFT controls.

As a follow-up to the implemented activities and aiming to further familiarise the BdP’s AML/CFT team with the revised data gathering tool, including with its practical application, the ECCD organised a half-day workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, on 27 June 2023. The event aimed at providing an in-depth overview on how the new questionnaire was restructured in the course of the Project and how it adds value to currently used data gathering tool, particularly for the purpose of AML/CFT risk-profiling and risk-based supervision of obliged entities. In a separate session, also delivered by the Council of Europe expert, the workshop focused on inter-agency cooperation as an additional source of information needed for the effective AML/CFT risk-based supervision.

This event was followed by another half-day workshop which aimed at further enhancing the capacities of the BdP as regards the effective use of ML/TF risk indicators. Moreover, through practical exercises and exchanges of experience, BdP’s AML/CFT team and the Council of Europe expert discussed development of the annual plan for the risk-based supervision of obliged entities, based on application of relevant risk indicators and related individual risk assessment of particular obliged entities.

The events were organised within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) initiative on “Developing a risk-based methodology for an automatic anti-money laundering/counter terrorist financing risk categorisation for supervised entities in Portugal”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.