Moldovan parliament approves law for prevention, fighting money laundering, financing terrorism

Chisinau, 22 December /MOLDPRES/ – The Parliament adopted today the final reading of the law on preventing, combating money laundering and financing terrorism, a document that provides for creation of the Prevention and Anti – Money Laundering Service (SPCSB) as an independent public authority.

According to the law, the service will be in charge for receiving, recording, analising and processing info on suspicious activities and transactions of money laundering law violations related to money laundering and financing terrorism. The info will be forwarded to competent bodies. Similarly, the authority will notify the competent law enforcement authorities as soon as it establishes suspicions of crime and will conduct financial investigations in order to identify origins of the suspicious goods. The new structure will be a legal entity governed by public law and have a stamp and a treasury account.

Simultaneously, the law provides that government, within 30 days, will appoint the leadership and approve the service structure and staff limit on director’s suggestion. The authority will prepare and submit to government the yearly activity report by 30 April. All rights and obligations of the National Anticorruption Centre (CNA) and the Service for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering (SPCSB) within the CNA in this area, at the date of entry into force of the given law, shall be communicated to the newly founded Service.

(Reporter A. Zara, editor A. Raileanu)