Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenia has made considerable improvements in the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) in a relatively short timeframe, particularly by replacing the first AML/CFT law enacted in 2005 with a more comprehensive law in 2008.

Mediamax reports that the third round Evaluation report of Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL Committee (Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism) on Armenia, published on January 11, reads this.

The report notes that the Financial Intelligence Unit - the Financial Monitoring Centre (FMC) - which is established within the Central Bank of Armenia is knowledgeable and active, but is understaffed.

According to MONEYVAL assessments, the Armenian AML/CFT preventive measures for financial institutions operating in the financial system are comprehensive, provide for risk-based elements, and are relatively close to the FATF Recommendations. The report reads that implementation of the preventive measures by financial institutions is slightly more advanced in the banking sector but less so in other sectors.

The Committee believes that Armenia’s criminal provisions for money laundering are basically sound and address many criteria under the FATF standards though legal persons are not subject to criminal liability under Armenian law. Although there are some convictions, it has not yet been ascertained through a court judgment that money laundering can be prosecuted as an autonomous offence and in the absence of a conviction for the predicate offence.

The Committee highlighted insufficient control over financial flows of non-financial sector enterprises, which fall under AML/CFT law.