Dr Anton Bartolo - Director Enforcement Unit within the Malta Financial Services Authority has been elected Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL). The election took place during the 41st Plenary meeting of MONEYVAL, held in Strasbourg between the 9 – 12 April. Dr Bartolo is the head of the Maltese delegation to MONEYVAL and has formed part of the delegation ever since this committee (formerly committee PC-R-EV) was established in 1997.

MONEYVAL is an important and high profile monitoring body within the Council of Europe and is the leading FATF-style regional body. MONEYVAL works in close cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation. Its aim is to ensure that member states and those states which submit to its procedures have in place effective systems to counter money laundering and terrorist financing and comply with the relevant international standards in these fields. These standards include the recommendations of the FATF; various United Nations Conventions including those on traffic in narcotics and drugs, transnational organised crime and suppression of the financing of terrorism; the EU Directive on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; and the Council of Europe Conventions on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime. MONEYVAL  assesses its members' compliance with international standards in the legal, financial and law enforcement sectors through a peer review process of mutual evaluations. Its reports provide detailed analysis and recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of domestic regimes to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. MONEYVAL also conducts typologies studies of money laundering and terrorist financing methods, trends and techniques.

MONEYVAL currently comprises33 jurisdictions which are subject to its evaluation processes and procedures, including Malta which is a founding member. In addition, a number of bodies, countries and organisations have observer status. These include the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Committee on Crime Problems, the Conference of the Parties of the Convention (CETS 198), the European Commission and the Secretariat General of the Council of the European Union, Canada, Japan, Mexico, United States of America, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the IMF, the World Bank, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN Counter Terrorism Committee and Interpol.

This is the second time Malta holds the Presidency of MONEYVAL, the position having also been held by the Hon. Chief Justice Dr Silvio Camilleri (who was Attorney General at the time). The Chair of MONEYVAL places Malta in an internationally visible and active role in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and continues to re-affirm Malta's commitment in this area at an international level. Malta was evaluated four times by MONEYVAL, with the most recent report published on the 6 March 2012.

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