MONEYVAL gives Liechtenstein a very good rating

Liechtenstein was last audited for compliance with the FATF standards by MONEYVAL in 2013. The report published today by MONEYVAL contains an up-to-date assessment of the country's status in the area of combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The report is the result of a comprehensive review last year, which included a two-week on-site visit and detailed discussions with representatives of various authorities as well as the financial centre.

The report notes that the country demonstrates a high level of effectiveness in identifying AML/CFT risks, establishing national AML/CFT policies and coordination, using financial intelligence, seizing the proceeds of crime, investigating and prosecuting terrorist financing, and cooperating internationally. MONEYVAL commends Liechtenstein for having a comprehensive and convergent understanding of its key money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Furthermore, the report highlights that while a more comprehensive understanding of the risks in some specific areas is needed, this would only require refining a well-established risk assessment process.

These statements are underlined by the consistently good to very good ratings. MONEYVAL awards the country the rating "substantial" in five of eleven effectiveness ratings and none with the rating "low". In terms of technical compliance with the 40 FATF recommendations, MONEYVAL also gives Liechtenstein very good marks with 26 "largely compliant", 11 "complaint", only 3 "partially compliant" and not a single "non-compliant".

With these ratings, Liechtenstein also performs very well in comparison with other countries assessed by MONEYVAL (see also the comparative overview below).

"Of course, we are pleased with the over all very good ratings. They are proof of the high compliance standards in the country. We are particularly pleased that the report explicitly states that in the private sector, the banks and the large providers of fiduciary and corporate services would have shown the best understanding of ML/TF risks related to private banking and wealth management," said the CEO of the Bankers Association, Simon Tribelhorn. "This shows that the banks' consistent efforts over many years in the area of combating money laundering and terrorist financing are having an effect and are also being noticed," Tribelhorn continued.

Here you can find the entire assessment report from MONEYVAL:

Moneyval Report

In the following overview you will also find a comparison of the outcomes for Liechtenstein with other countries: Overview

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