Balkan Business News Correspondent - 24.01.2011

http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=90335

The Government of Montenegro adopted the Bill amending the Law against Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism, Director of the Administration for Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism Predrag Mitrovic told the press on Thursday, January 20. He added that the starting points for the amendments were the recommendations from MANIVAL, the Council of Europe Committee, the Government conclusions of April 2009 and the amendments put forward by international experts from the Netherlands and Bulgaria under the Twinning Projects.  “One of the MONEYVAL experts’ recommendations refers to the definition of the crime of money laundering in the Criminal Code, in line with the conclusions of the Vienna and Palermo conventions. This was done through amendments to the Criminal Code in May last year,” noted Mitrovic. Other MONEYVAL recommendations introduced in the Bill amending the Law, as Director Mitrovic stated, are related to the duty of reporting suspicious transactions even after their execution and electronic money transfer. Furthermore, paying special attention to unusual transactions having no clear economic or legal purpose or validity, as well as taking measures to prevent money laundering and financing terrorism risks arising from new technologies that provide anonymity such as internet banking, use of ATMs and telephone banking, and monitoring clients’ cash transactions in amount of EUR 15,000 and more are also taken into account, Director Mitrovic concluded. Source: Government