Silina believes Moneyval's assessment will help attract foreign investment to Latvia

RIGA The assessment of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) will contribute to attracting foreign investment to Latvia, believes Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity).

Silina's press secretary Edite Matusevica informed LETA that during a meeting with Moneyval experts, Silina stressed the importance of receiving a clear assessment of Latvia's work and the reforms introduced in the area of combating financial crime.

As reported, Moneyval experts have arrived in Latvia today to continue evaluating Latvia's system in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The Moneyval team will stay in Latvia until November 15, and Latvia will receive the latest sixth-round assessment at the end of 2025, LETA was told at the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia (FIU Latvia).

The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as with the task of making recommendations to national authorities in respect of necessary improvements to their systems.

Moneyval's assessments of member states are the main documents taken into account when determining a country's anti-money laundering risks.

A reassessment of Latvia's anti-money-laundering framework will ensure that Latvia receives an assessment that is relevant to the current situation. Latvia has submitted itself for the new Moneyval assessment round. Latvia will be the first member state to be assessed in the new assessment round.

Around five years ago, Moneyval placed Latvia under heightened supervision, and Latvia was faced with the risk of being included on a list of countries identified as having strategic anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing deficiencies, the so-called "grey list".

In order to avoid being placed on the "grey list", Latvia launched extensive reforms or an "overhaul" of its financial system, which, among other things, led to much stricter requirements for credit institutions' customers and had a negative impact on the availability of loans.