Moldova is the first in the region to implement with the USAID support a modern IT solution designed to monitor and prevent money laundering risks and assess bank shareholders.
This is the first IT solution in the region to be implemented with the support of the USAID Moldova Financial Sector Transparency Activity (FSTA) project, and its main characteristics were presented during an online event organized by the National Bank of Moldova (NBM). As noted, the new IT system will provide the NBM employees with a number of advanced functions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. The software will allow controlling all banking operations, since it will function as a single point for accessing and viewing information contained in numerous databases. At the same time, a risk-based operating concept will detect suspicious activity and issue alerts. This will facilitate both early detection of money laundering and terrorist financing risks and the detection of suspicious changes in the ownership structure of banks. In his opening remarks, Governor of the NBM, Octavian Armasu, emphasized that the implementation of the new IT solution is taking place in the context of reforms in the banking sector of Moldova in recent years. “Careful monitoring of the banking sector, identification and assessment of inherent risks and implementation of measures to reduce them - these are not only important tasks, but also real challenges. At the same time, the development of the financial market is becoming more dynamic and requires more and more prompt approaches from the supervisory authority. A large number of transactions, a huge amount of data - this is a real problem for the regulator, because they can no longer be efficiently processed manually, based on templates. That is why we need automated data processing on the basis of modern platforms for big data analysis, which will increase the efficiency of supervision,” said Octavian Armasu. In this regard, Scott Hocklander, USAID Mission Director in Moldova, praised the NBM's efforts to strengthen its capacity to prevent and combat financial crime, as well as to ensure transparency of bank shareholders. “We are confident that the implementation of this IT solution, along with staff training, will significantly improve the Moldovan authorities' ability to detect and combat financial crime and reduce corruption, providing a more robust approach to preventing illegal or suspicious money transfers and ensuring the stability of the financial system. A transparent and stable financial system is necessary to stimulate the economic growth of Moldova and attract new investments,” he stressed. The NBM's openness to adopting best practices was also noted by the USAID FSTA project director Matthew Macellaro. “We are delighted to work side by side with a team of dedicated professionals who helped us in this complex process of developing technical requirements based on the specifics and realities of the financial sector in Moldova,” said the head of the named project. Matthew Macellaro also listed other activities supported by the USAID FSTA project to promote financial sector reforms. They include support provided to the Single Central Securities Depository in the development of a retail platform through which citizens can directly buy and sell government securities, as well as methodological support in creating conditions for interaction with other Central Securities Depositories of the European Union. At the same time, the USAID FSTA project supports a number of initiatives to improve the policy of supervision and regulation of the financial market in our country, especially in the field of insurance and non-bank lending. The IT solution in the field of preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing will be implemented within 25 months on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by representatives of the NBM and the USAID FSTA project, which, in addition to technical support, provides thematic trainings for NBM employees and reporting entities. // 21.04.2021 – InfoMarket
