The target audience of the project is the experts and analysts of the FIU, representatives of law enforcement authorities, employees of Latvijas Banka working in the field of the prevention of money laundering and terrorism and proliferation financing (ML/TPF) and sanctions risk management. Strengthening the knowledge, skills and understanding of the employees of these authorities will improve the overall ability to detect and combat money laundering at the national level.

Project activities

I Strengthening of bilateral cooperation

• Visit on ML/TPF prevention supervision at the Central Bank of Ireland. Within the scope of the visit, the main focus is on the assessment of sectoral risks in credit institutions and non-bank financial institutions, especially in financial institutions registered in Ireland and operating cross-border.
• Visit on ML/TPF prevention supervision and sanctions risk management issues at the Central Bank of the Netherlands and the Financial Market Commission. Within the framework of the visit, the main focus is on the assessment of ML/TPF risks of new market participants, the method and criteria for determining ML/TPF risks for credit institutions and non-bank financial institutions, the interaction and scope of on-site and off-site monitoring processes, the policy and practical application of penalties, as well as international cooperation in the supervision of the prevention of ML/TPF.
• Visit on ML/TPF prevention supervision at Česká národní banka , taking into account the supervision process carried out outside the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Exchange of experience and discussions on the on-site and off-site monitoring process, scope and regularity for credit institutions and high-risk non-bank financial institutions, as well as the identification of ML/TPF risks for individual segments of the financial market.
• Visit to the French Prudential Control and Resolution Authority and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in matters of ML/TPF prevention supervision. Within the framework of the visit, the main focus is on the approach and scope of the supervision of non-bank financial institutions such as crowdfunding platforms, the cooperation of the supervisory authority with the financial sector, the supervision process in credit institutions and non-financial institutions, as well as the application of the penalty policy.
• Visit on ML/TPF prevention supervision at the Central Bank of Cyprus. The main focus of the visit is on the monitoring of the implementation of the requirements of the internal control system set by the supervisory authority in credit institutions and financial institutions, the methodology for monitoring transactions of foreign customers, including within the framework of the investment program, the information and solutions available for the implementation of supervision, as well as the risk determination factors of financial institutions and their impact.

II Training and certification by the International Compliance Association

Experts of the Anti-Money Laundering Department are scheduled to receive training in the prevention of ML/TPF and sanctions risk management to earn a certificate, an advanced certificate or a diploma from the International Compliance Association after the successful completion of the training. In the course of the project, more than 10 expert trainings are planned in the period from December 2022 to December 2024.

III Training on ML/TPF prevention supervision of persons offering transactions with crypto assets

When starting the supervision of persons whose economic activity is related to transactions with crypto-assets, it is planned to attract an expert with experience in the supervision of the mentioned persons within the framework of the project. The expert will be tasked to provide training to the experts of the Anti-Money Laundering Department as the key recipients on the prerequisites for the implementation of supervision and the necessary technical solutions. The implementation of the activity is planned for the fourth quarter of 2023.

As a result of the implementation of all stages of the project, information control and analysis will be improved in order to detect and prevent ML/TPF or related crimes. In general, this will contribute to the safety and reputation of the Latvian financial system.

The project implementing authority is the Financial Intelligence Unit, whereas the national partner – Latvijas Banka (successor of the FCMC).

The project implementation is due to 31 May 2024.