On July 9, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted the National Program on Preventing and Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction for 2026–2030, along with its implementation action plan. Developed by the FIU Moldova (SPCSB), the document serves as the primary public policy instrument that will guide national authorities' efforts in this area over the next five years, in alignment with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, the European acquis, and the commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova in its EU accession process.
The program aims to transition from a predominantly formal approach to compliance toward a results-oriented system capable of effectively preventing, detecting, and sanctioning the use of the financial system and other economic sectors for illicit purposes. The document is structured around three strategic objectives: strengthening public policies and cooperation at both national and international levels; preventing the entry of funds derived from criminal activities or intended for terrorist financing into the financial system and other economic sectors; and detecting, investigating, and sanctioning acts of money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The program builds upon the results achieved under previous strategies and promotes a risk-based approach—grounded in the findings of the National Risk Assessment—by linking identified threats to the prioritization of measures and the responsibilities of the institutions involved.
At the same time, the document addresses the key vulnerabilities identified at the national level within the National Risk Assessment, establishing concrete measures to mitigate them and to strengthen the resilience of the financial system and other economic sectors.
Key measures envisaged include increasing transparency regarding the beneficial owners of legal entities, strengthening the supervision of reporting entities based on identified risks, developing financial analysis and investigative capacities, reinforcing asset recovery mechanisms, and effectively implementing financial sanctions in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, including through the immediate freezing of funds belonging to designated persons and entities.
The implementation of the Program is of particular importance in light of the upcoming evaluation of the Republic of Moldova by the Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL Committee, scheduled for 2028, which will focus on demonstrating the practical effectiveness of the national system for preventing and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
