On 22 January, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš informed the media that he welcomes the Moneyval experts’ positive assessment of Latvia’s progress in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, by emphasizing that this is the result of the financial sector’s monitoring reform or “overhaul”.
“I would like to express my great satisfaction with the Moneyval’s positive report. It is certainly indicative of obvious results produced by “overhaul”. According to Moneyval, Latvia fully meets all the requirements of international standards. In 2018, ten out of 40 areas had distinct shortcomings, while in the latest evaluation we have managed to make significant improvements in 11 areas and meet all the requirements. This is a clear external signal that we have gone in the right direction in strengthening the supervision of the financial sector. It is essential to continue the reforms that are underway and to introduce the legislation adopted during the “overhaul”. This requires continuous work,” stressed K.Kariņš by pointing out that a significant decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on the effectiveness of the system, which will conclude international assessments in this cycle, is still expected in the second half of February.
The report of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (Moneyval) on Latvia was published today.
Sandris Sabajevs
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: 67082865, Mob.: 22087726
E-mail: Sandris.Sabajevs@mk.gov.lv