Moldova's legislation to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing to be adjusted to EU standards

Chisinau, Nov 15 /MOLDPRES/- Moldova's legislation in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing will be adjusted to European Union standards. A draft law to this effect was passed today in the first reading by 62 lawmakers.

The new amendments will provide conditions for Moldova to join the Single Euro Payments Area as soon as possible, which will bring more benefits for the country's economy and population.

The document was drafted by the Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the Service for Prevention and Combating Money Laundering. It aims to bring national legislation in the field of preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing in line with the European Union legislation, which is an essential step in fulfilling Moldova's commitments in the accession to the EU.

The draft law aims to carry out the recommendations made in the review report on the implementation of the standard for the exchange of information on request (EOIR Standard), as well as on the basis of the findings of MONEYVAL Committee.

In this context, the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs will be supplemented with the obligation to submit information on the data of the resident private people responsible for providing and updating information on the data in the state register of legal entities. 

At the same time, the Contravention Code will be amended in order to penalize the failure to submit updated beneficial owner data, as well as the submission of inaccurate, incomplete or erroneous data in the context of the registration of legal entities and trusts. Respectively, the fine imposed on private people or responsible persons will range from 15,000 to 40,000 lei, while legal entities will be fined up to 75,000 lei.