Presentation of the First National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy: Reactions

The total number of guilty verdicts in money laundering cases for the period 2006-2010 is seventy-two: this information was announced during the roundtable оrganized by the RiskMonitor Foundation on March 11, 2011 in the Ministry of Councils for the presentation of the proposal for the first National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy. Roundtable participants included the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Mr. Tzvetan Tzvetanov, H.E. the Ambassador of the USA to Bulgaria, Mr. James Warlick, heads of the institutions involved in the development of the Strategy, among them the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the National Investigation Service, the State Agency for National Security, the Ministry of Interior, the Bulgarian National Bank, the National Revenue Service, the Commission for the Establishment of Property Acquired Through Criminal Activity.

The media covering the event emphasize the proposal for establishing a support fund for the victims of high-risk social crimes. The fund will be financed with the proceeds confiscated in money laundering cases and will be used to develop information and prevention campaigns, to support investigation activities and for strengthening the administrative capacity of the institutions engaged in anti-money laundering efforts.

Media also quote the presentation of Mr. Georgi Petrunov, a RiskMonitor expert. In his statement he stressed that the main obstacle before the investigation in counteracting money laundering is the slow and difficult access to information, which allows criminals to transfer assets before forfeiture procedures take place. One of the measures proposed in the new Strategy envisions the creation of electronic centralized registries of the existing bank accounts and income tax declarations to enable easier access to the information by law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Tzvetanov expressed his personal commitment to organize a discussion of the Strategy in the Council for Development and to make it available for public consultations on the internet sites of the Ministry of Interior and the Council of Ministers. The Strategy, a first of its kind for Bulgaria, includes proposals for legislative amendments, expanding the prevention efforts and initiatives, improving the effectiveness of the investigation, access to information, etc. The Strategy seeks to complement the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria which was recently passed by the National Parliament.

You can download the draft Anti-Money Laundering Strategy here (in Bulgarian):