Bulgaria launches new AML unit amid international pressure

Bulgaria will learn in October if it is added to the FATF grey list for AML risks.

Bulgaria.- A new unit will enforce anti-money laundering measures among gambling operators in Bulgaria. The unit will be overseen by the National Revenue Agency (NRA), which took over responsibility for gambling regulation in 2020.

The dedicated unit will monitor gambling operations, transactions and customers that are flagged as suspicious and will share information with international authorities. It will see to enforce requirements on customer verification, documentation and money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments.

The creation of the new unit comes as Bulgaria seeks to raise standards following a critical national money laundering risk assessment in 2020 and the risk of greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Moneyval, the European Union AML watchdog, signalled the gambling sector as an AML risk in a report in May last year, noting challenges from organised crime and corruption and limited government resources.

The FATF is due to update its grey list of untrustworthy financial jurisdictions in October. Gibraltar and the Philippines remain on the list while Malta was removed last year after having been added in 2021.

See also: EU warns of requirements for enhanced due diligence measures