26 June 2020
The CMVM was part
of the Working Group that carried out the second 2019 National Risk
Assessment (ANR 2019) on money laundering and terrorism financing
wherein the scope was broadened compared to the first assessment, to the risks
of financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The 2019
assessment concluded that the risk of money laundering in Portugal is
medium-low, the risk of financing terrorism is medium-low and the risk of
financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is low. The main
conclusions of the 2019 ANR can be found in the summary.
The first risk
assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing (MLTF) was carried out
by Portugal in 2015. In this assessment, an update to said exercise was
expected to be carried out every three to five years. The Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) also identified the need to update this exercise, within the scope
of the fourth assessment of the effectiveness of national systems for
preventing and combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, in which
it gave Portugal the highest classification.
The second
nationwide exercise covering all activity sectors subject to the compliance of
MLFT prevention duties, was promoted by the Coordinating Committee for
Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and was
led by a Working Group created for the purpose.
The CMVM
participated in the 2019 ANR as part of the aforementioned Working Group and
contributed to identifying and assessing the risks of money laundering and
financing of terrorism and carried out a sectoral assessment of these risks in
the sectors wherein the entities it supervises carry out their activities. The
sectorial assessment carried out by the CMVM thus encompasses both the
financial sector - activities in financial intermediation, management of
collective investment undertakings and other assets -, as well as the
non-financial sector - audit services - as well as the activity carried out by
the managing entities of crowdfunding platforms - loan and equity based.
The work carried
out by the CMVM on sectoral assessment of MLTF risks, bearing in mind the
sectors it supervises, and following the methodology defined by the Working
Group, is included in the report prepared by the Working Group and approved by
the Coordinating Committee for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and
Financing of Terrorism, covering:
(i) Assessment of
the quality of sectoral controls (both from the supervisory authority and the
supervised entities viewpoint);
(ii) Assessment
of the degree of occurrence probability and the impact of the identified
intrinsic vulnerabilities;
(iii)
Identification of mitigating measures and improvement actions.
In global terms,
as far as the financial sector is concerned, residual vulnerability and the
risk of money laundering is medium-low, both with regard to entities providing
investment services and with respect to management entities of collective
investment undertakings and other assets. In the non-financial sector, the
residual vulnerability and the risk of money laundering of audit services is
low. In terms of residual vulnerability and money laundering risk of entities
managing crowdfunding platforms (loan and equity based), the assessment is
medium-low.
It should be
noted that the conclusions of the assessment carried out were preceded by two
consultations with a group of supervised entities and associations representing
the sectors supervised by the CMVM, promoted in conjunction with the other
supervisory and inspection authorities, resulting overall, in agreement with
the assessment made by the CMVM.
It is worth
recalling that the national MLFT risk assessment makes it possible to
understand the risks of this nature that currently exist in Portugal. The need
to identify, assess and understand the risks of money laundering and terrorism
financing arises from the FATF Recommendations (Recommendation 1), as well as
national and international legal imperatives. At the level of the sectors
supervised by the CMVM, this exercise is a relevant instrument for
understanding and monitoring the main vulnerabilities identified with regard to
the sectors wherein the entities supervised by the CMVM carry out their
activity, and as an important instrument to consider when conducting the
risk-based supervision developed by the CMVM.
