Slovenia: progress made, but money-laundering investigations and prosecutions require reinforcing

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MONEYVAL helps countries like Slovenia fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism

A news report published today by the Council of Europe's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing monitoring body, MONEYVAL, notes that Slovenia has made considerable efforts to understand its money laundering and terrorist financing risks, particularly across key authorities. However, the robustness of risk assessments remains constrained by structural data gaps and uneven engagement across authorities. While there is strong operational coordination between competent authorities, the policy level coordination remains underdeveloped. As a result, Slovenia lacks a formal, integrated national strategy with prioritised, adequately resourced actions to address key money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

MONEYVAL highlights Slovenia's constructive and effective international cooperation, including its participation in joint investigative teams. Nevertheless, cross-border asset-tracing could be more proactive.

Regulatory framework in Slovenia needs bolstering

Slovenia demonstrates substantial effectiveness in restricting criminals and their associates from owning or controlling financial institutions. MONEYVAL concludes that financial institutions have an adequate understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks while financial supervisors provide guidance to their obliged entities, highlighting risks and appropriate mitigating measures. By contrast, significant weaknesses remain in the regulatory framework, the implementation of preventative measures, and the controls and supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions, such as real estate agents and lawyers.

All legal persons are required to register in Slovenia, and access to basic and beneficial-ownership information is ensured. However, measures to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the data are not yet fully effective. Moreover, MONEYVAL considers that sanctions for failures to comply with beneficial-ownership disclosure requirements are not proportionate, effective and dissuasive.

Evidentiary thresholds and interpretation of offences raise issues

MONEYVAL recognises the central role of Slovenia's Financial Intelligence Unit, which enjoys full operational independence within the country's system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The report highlights the Financial Intelligence Unit's timely access to a broad range of databases, which supports its operational work. However, recent legislative changes limiting the law-enforcement authorities' access to banking data and resource constraints affect the timely delivery of financial intelligence for money-laundering cases.

Slovenian competent authorities identify, investigate and prosecute money-laundering offences, including complex cross-border cases. The majority of money-laundering cases stem from fraud, and the overall results of money-laundering investigations, prosecutions and convictions are only to some extent aligned with the country's money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk profile. Higher evidentiary thresholds for the application of certain investigative measures, together with the interpretation of the money-laundering offence in case-law, reduce the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions.

MONEYVAL further acknowledges that asset recovery is a priority for the police and prosecution authorities, and that inter-agency cooperation in tracing and seizing proceeds from crime is effective. While a commendable amount of tainted property has been seized, further efforts are needed to strengthen confiscation outcomes in line with the country's risk profile. Although the Slovenian authorities have demonstrated the ability to apply the full range of asset-recovery measures available under the law, the use of non-conviction-based confiscation remains limited.

With respect to combatting terrorist financing, the report acknowledges Slovenia's sound legal and institutional framework and good cooperation among the competent authorities. While some terrorist-financing cases have been investigated, the proactive identification of such cases has yet to become a routine practice. Although no terrorist-financing cases have been prosecuted and no convictions have been recorded, the report highlights the judiciary's overall ability to handle such cases, should they arise.

Slovenia implements targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism, terrorist and proliferation financing without delay, with financial institutions and key obliged entities generally demonstrating a good understanding of, and compliance with, their obligations. However, the report highlights deficiencies in communicating UN sanctions designations to the private sector. Further efforts are needed to improve the understanding of the private sector's obligations within the designated non-financial businesses and professions sector.

Following the assessment, Slovenia has received a roadmap of key recommended actions to be completed within three years. Based on its effectiveness and technical compliance ratings, Slovenia will report back to MONEYVAL on progress achieved as part of the enhanced follow-up process.

Read the report on Slovenia in full

MONEYVAL and Slovenia