International regulation

Monetary Agreement (signed between the Principality of Andorra and the European Union)

Monetary Agreement signed between the Principality of Andorra and the European Union

On 30 June 2011, the Monetary Agreement between the Principality of Andorra and the European Union was signed in Brussels. This agreement has 14 articles and is accompanied by an annex listing the European legal provisions that the Government has to implement following the timetable agreed by the Principality of Andorra and the European Union relating to:

The prevention of money laundering;
The prevention of fraud and counterfeiting;
The rules on bitcoins and euro coins; 4;
Legislation on banking and financial matters; and
The collection of statistical information.

This Annex is amended by the Commission once a year, or more frequently if it deems it necessary, in order to take account of new relevant European Union legal acts and regulations and amendments to existing texts.

The amendments to the Annex to the Monetary Agreement are available at the following links:

The following is a summary of the main European legal provisions transposed by the Principality of Andorra as a result of the signature of this agreement:

Council Decision 2000/642/JHA of 17 October 2000 concerning arrangements for cooperation between financial intelligence units of the Member States in respect of exchanging information (OJ L 271, 24.10.2000, p. 4)
Council Framework Decision 2001/500/JHA of 26 June 2001 on money laundering, the identification, tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscation of instrumentalities and the proceeds of crime (OJ L 182, 5.7.2001, p. 1)
Council Framework Decision 2005/212/JHA of 24 February 2005 on Confiscation of Crime-Related Proceeds, Instrumentalities and Property (OJ L 68, 3.2005, p. 49)
Council Decision 2007/845/JHA of 6 December 2007 concerning cooperation between Asset Recovery Offices of the Member States in the field of tracing and identification of proceeds from, or other property related to, crime (OJ L 332, 18.12.2007, p. 103)
Directive 2014/42/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime in the European Union (OJ L 127, 29.4.2014, p. 39)
Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on information accompanying transfers of funds and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 1)
Directive 2015/849/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 73)

Amended by:

Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and amending Directives 2009/138/EC and 2013/36/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43)

Supplemented by:

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 of 14 July 2016 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council by identifying high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies (OJ L 254, 20.9.2016, p. 1)

Amended by:

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/105 of 27 October 2017 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675, as regards adding Ethiopia to the list of high-risk third countries in the table in point I of the Annex (OJ L 19, 24.1.2018, p. 1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/212 of 13 December 2017 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards adding Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tunisia to the table in point I of the Annex (OJ L 41, 14.2.2018, p. 4)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1467 of 27 July 2018 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards adding Pakistan to the table in point I of the Annex (OJ L 246, 2.10.2018, p. 1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/855 of 7 May 2020 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards adding the Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe to the table in point I of the Annex and deleting Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Guyana, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka and Tunisia from this table (OJ L 195, 19.6.2020, p. 1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/37 of 7 December 2020 on amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards deleting Mongolia from the table in point I of the Annex (OJ L 14, 18.1.2021, p. 1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/758 of 31 January 2019 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the minimum action and the type of additional measures credit and financial institutions must take to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risk in certain third countries (OJ L 125, 14.5.2019, p. 4)
Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on controls on cash entering or leaving the Union and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1889/2005 (OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 6)
Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on combating money laundering by criminal law (OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 22)

FATF 40 Recommandations

The FATF Recommendations set out a comprehensive and consistent framework of measures which countries should implement in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Given that countries have legal, administrative and operational frameworks and different financial systems, they cannot take identical measures to counter these threats. Consequently, the FATF Recommendations set an International Standard, which countries should implement through measures adapted to their particular circumstances.

The FATF rules include: (i) its Recommendations; (ii) its Interpretative Notes, in conjunction with (iii) the definitions included in the Glossary.

Methodology for assessing the technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of the systems of AML/CFT systems

This methodology provides the basis for assessing technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations, as well as for examining the level of effectiveness of each country's system for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

In this sense, the FATF assessment methodology comprises two components:

The assessment of technical compliance, which covers the analysis of the specific requirements of each of the Recommendations, mainly with regard to a country's legal and institutional framework and the powers and procedures of the competent authorities. Thus, each FATF Recommendation presents a list of criteria, which represent the elements that must be present to demonstrate compliance with the mandatory elements of each Recommendation and which, therefore, are those that allow the technical compliance component of a country to be assessed.
Effectiveness assessment, which examines the adequacy and appropriateness of the implementation of the FATF Recommendations and therefore identifies the extent to which a country achieves the defined set of results essential for an effective system for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Accordingly, effectiveness measures the degree of achievement of the defined outcomes, using the 11 Immediate Outcomes and the 3 Intermediate Outcomes established by the FATF.

The overall analysis of the technical compliance with the Recommendations and the effectiveness of the AML/CTF system will determine the degree of compliance with FATF standards by the assessed country and the success in maintaining a robust AML/CTF system.