The Financial Action Task Force published a first enhanced follow-up update on North Macedonia under the Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL process, concluding that the country has made sufficient progress to improve its technical compliance on three FATF Recommendations. Recommendation 16 on wire transfers, Recommendation 18 on internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries, and Recommendation 25 on transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements were each re-rated from Partially Compliant to Largely Compliant, while Recommendation 26 on regulation and supervision of financial institutions remained Partially Compliant. The upgrades are linked to legal and supervisory changes since the mutual evaluation, including amendments to the AML/CFT law that entered into force in October 2024 and addressed transfers of funds and transfers of virtual assets, group-level policies and controls, and the use of convictions data in fit-and-proper assessments. The report also notes supporting measures such as Insurance Supervision Agency bylaws and a risk assessment covering AML/CFT risks arising from legal persons and legal arrangements. Remaining gaps cited include the lack of a provision preventing execution of wire transfers that do not meet information requirements, incomplete coverage of management-level compliance officer and independent audit expectations across obliged entities, and limited explicit requirements around trust-related information on other service providers. For Recommendation 26, the report points to constraints in fit-and-proper controls, uneven application of risk-based AML/CFT supervision across supervisors, and issues including private funds being subject to registration rather than a licensing regime and potential ambiguity in parts of the securities supervisory remit. North Macedonia remains in enhanced follow-up and is expected to report back to MONEYVAL within one year on further progress in implementing AML/CFT measures.
Financial Action Task Force 2026-03-23
Financial Action Task Force upgrades North Macedonia on three AML/CFT Recommendations and keeps it in MONEYVAL enhanced follow-up
The Financial Action Task Force released an enhanced follow-up update on North Macedonia, noting progress in technical compliance with three FATF Recommendations, which were upgraded to Largely Compliant. Improvements stem from legal and supervisory changes, including amendments to the AML/CFT law. However, gaps remain in wire transfer information requirements, compliance officer expectations, and risk-based AML/CFT supervision.