The Central Bank of Montenegro hosted a regional conference on “Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) and Fraud Prevention in Instant Payments”, bringing together senior representatives from central banks, supervisory and regulatory bodies from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as international experts in supervision and payment systems.
Opening the event, Central Bank Governor Irena Radović emphasized that combating money laundering and terrorist financing is a key pillar in maintaining the integrity of the financial system and a prerequisite for the European perspective and deeper economic integration in the Western Balkans. She highlighted the Central Bank’s achievements over the past two years, including strengthening the regulatory framework, enhancing supervision and institutional capacities, and implementing risk-based measures in collaboration with Eurosystem central banks.
Governor Radović noted that raising standards in AML/CFT paves the way for full participation in European initiatives such as SEPA and TIPS, ensuring faster, safer, and more cost-effective transactions while increasing trust among citizens, businesses, and international partners.
Gordana Kalezić, Director of AML/CFT Supervision at the Central Bank, stressed that regional cooperation is crucial for strengthening financial system resilience and public and investor confidence. She underlined that joint efforts can improve regulatory practices, raise standards, and ensure effective regional collaboration against financial crime, supporting the European integration of the region.
Roel Braes, Director of on-site AML/CFT supervision at the National Bank of Belgium, praised cooperation with Montenegro and noted that progress in strengthening AML/CFT frameworks nationally and regionally forms the basis for future collaboration with the newly established European Anti-Money Laundering Agency (AMLA).
International expert Kjeld Herreman from Paylume discussed challenges in preventing financial crime in instant payments, sharing EU experiences in implementing instant payment regulations and SEPA/TIPS systems. He highlighted AMLA’s critical role in standardizing these practices across the EU and supporting candidate countries in their integration. The conference also focused on initiatives and readiness of Western Balkan countries to enhance mutual cooperation with European partners.
