The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Office for Prevention and Fight Against Money Laundering of the Republic of Moldova (FIU), increased the awareness and knowledge of the financial and non-financial institutions on compliance with beneficial ownership (BO) identification and reporting requirements, through a series of training events organised in Chisinau during 22-24 July 2024.

The program agenda covered current trends in beneficial ownership transparency, emphasizing the importance of a robust BO registry, interagency cooperation for data collection and verification, risks associated with complex legal structures and nominee ownership, alongside strategies for mitigating these risks. 

Following these training events, the obliged entities became better equipped to identify the beneficial owners of their customers, adequately assess the level of money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with corporate customers and apply a risk-based approach.

Participants benefited from expert-led discussions, networking opportunities, and useful insights aimed at equipping financial compliance officers, legal professionals and regulatory consultants with essential skills and knowledge to effectively manage complex beneficial ownership scenarios making Moldova's institutions better-prepared to meet international standards in BO compliance. This initiative highlights the country’s commitment to strengthening the integrity of its financial sector and its resilience to economic crime.

This event is part of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the project on “Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Regime in the Republic of Moldova”.