The Office for Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering (Financial Intelligence Unit) is the national center for collection, analysis and dissemination of financial data and is also an important synapse between the financial sector, specialized professional services on the one hand and law enforcement system on the other hand. Thus, this approach makes the mission of the Office for Preventing and Combating of Money Laundering become extremely important in reducing the vulnerability of banking and non-banking sectors to the risk exposure of money laundering and terrorism financing.

As a result of a complex analytical process combined with financial investigations the Office identifies complex schemes and typologies of money laundering and terrorism financing that are forwarded to operational criminal divisions for examination according to its ability.

Right from its setting up starting with September 15, 2003 the Office accelerated quickly in establishing an appropriate regulatory and institutional framework on both national exigency and international standards and demands. Being one of many Financial Intelligence Units, during this period thanks to our partners and counterparts around the world, the Office obtained substantial financial and human resources in order to optimize the capacity and operational independence of this important authority.

The office’s efforts have been appreciated in the recent evaluation reports by MONEYVAL Committee experts of the Council of Europe. Taking into account that the success of counteraction of money laundering and terrorism financing requires an efficient and wide level of national and international cooperation, the Office cooperates actively and shares information with similar authorities within international organizations such as the EGMONT Group, MONEYVAL, Euro-Asiatic Group, Europol, GUAM and so on. Additionally, the establishment of bilateral relations concerning information exchange with similar counterparts in other countries is a priority, and in this regard 43 cooperation memoranda have been signed.

Since 2007 Moldova has promoted a unitary government policy to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing, expressed through cooperative efforts of all authorities in various olicies and strategies. The last policy document is the National Strategy for prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing for the years 2013-2017 and the Action Plan adopted by Law no. 130 from 06.06.2013. According to the mentioned Strategy, the Service is the central authority responsible for presenting the national developments in the field.

Additionally, it should be noted that the Service of Preventing and Combating of Money Laundering ranged effectively in Moldova's European agenda, such as for example the process of negotiation of the Association Agreement "Moldova - EU", achieving the national action plan on visas liberalization etc. FIU and its partners efforts led to some remarkable progress in building and strengthening of the local system of prevention and combating of money laundering and financing of terrorism, which has become a real obstacle to criminals and their intentions to use the financial institutions as a means of collection and utilization of illicit funds, but also an essential element in promoting the stability of the financial system in the Republic of Moldova.