EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 13 April 2016  
on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing 
(CON/2016/23) 
 
Introduction and legal basis 
On 9 March 2016 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Slovenian Ministry of 
Finance for an opinion on a draft law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing 
(hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, as the draft law 
relates to Banka Slovenije and the ECB’s specific tasks concerning the prudential supervision of credit institutions. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the 
European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Purpose of the draft law 
The main purpose of the draft law, which replaces the current Law on the prevention of money laundering 
and terrorist financing
2 (hereinafter the ‘Law’), is to implement Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council3 into Slovenian law. In addition, the draft law introduces certain 
amendments aimed at improving the effectiveness of the system for the prevention of money laundering 
and terrorist financing (hereinafter ‘AML/CTF’) in Slovenia, by removing identified shortcomings in the 
current Law and addressing certain recommendations made to Slovenia by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of 
Terrorism – MONEYVAL
4. As part of these amendments, the draft law strengthens the powers of the 
Office for Money Laundering Prevention (hereinafter the ‘Office’), which is the Slovenian financial  
 
                                                 
1  Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 
2  Zakon o prepre čevanju pranja denarja in financiranja terorizma (ZPPDFT) (Ur. l. RS No 60/07, 19/10, 77/11, 108/12 
– ZIS-E and 19/14). 
3  Directive (EU) 2015/849 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). 
4  See the Report on Fourth Assessment Visit for Slovenia, dated 17 March 2010, and the 2nd regular follow-up 
progress report, dated April 2013, available on the Council of Europe’s website at ‘www.coe.int’.  
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2 intelligence unit, established as part of the Ministry of Finance5. The Office may issue administrative 
decisions and sanctions to the entities obliged to comply with AML/CTF laws and regulations (hereinafter the ‘obliged entities’)., The new powers of the Office under the draft law will include investigative powers 
allowing it to conduct on-site inspections of the obliged entities. These powers will extend both in relation to obliged entities without a primary supervisor (e.g. firms performing tax consultancy services) and to 
obliged entities having a primary supervisor. Accordi ng to the explanatory memorandum, the aim of this 
amendment is to improve the supervisory system over the obliged entities and to provide for more 
effective sanctioning. The primary supervisors for ensuring compliance with AML/CTF laws and 
regulations by obliged entities in the financial market are otherwise the relevant sectoral prudential supervisors: Banka Slovenije, the Securities Market Agency and the Insurance Supervision Agency. 
 2. General observations  
This opinion does not address whether the draft law effectively transposes Directive (EU) 2015/849 into 
Slovenian law, but rather the assessment is limited to certain provisions of the draft law that relate to the role and tasks of Banka Slovenije, and to ECB co mpetences and responsibilities in the field of the 
prudential supervision of credit institutions. As noted in Recitals 28 and 29 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013
6, the supervisory tasks not conferred on the ECB, which remain with the national 
authorities, include the prevention of the use of th e financial system for the purpose of money laundering 
and terrorist financing. The ECB should cooperate, as appropriate, fully with the national authorities, 
which are competent to ensure the fight against money laundering7. With respect to the competences 
entrusted to the Office by the draft law, it is noted that they result in certain inspection powers that parallel those of Banka Slovenije in relation to the same obli ged entities. In this regard, the ECB understands that 
national authorities shall closely cooperate in exercising their powers without adversely affecting their respective supervisory responsibilities. As regards the measures and sanctions to be imposed on credit 
institutions as obliged entities following infringements of AML/CTF provisions, which may, in case of the most severe breaches, include the withdrawal of the authorisation to carry out activities
8, it is noted that 
the ECB has exclusive competence, for prudential supervisory purposes, to withdraw a banking licence9. 
With regard to the possibility under the draft law to im pose a prohibition on the performance of managerial 
tasks10, for significant credit institutions, it is noted that the ECB is directly competent to ensure 
compliance with acts imposing requirements on credit institutions to have in place robust governance   
                                                 
5  The Slovenian Office can be categorised as an administrative ty pe of financial intelligence unit (see the publication of 
the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Financial Intelligence Units: An Overview , dated 2004, 
available here: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/FIU/fiu.pdf ). 
6  Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conf erring specific tasks on the European Central Bank 
concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 63). 
7  See also Article 6(2) of the Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 pursuant to which the ECB and national competent 
authorities shall be subject to a duty of cooperation in good faith, and an obligation to exchange information.  
8  See Article 165(8) in conjunction with Article 165(6) of the draft law. 
9  See Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013.  
10  See Article 165(9) in conjunction with Article 165(6) and (7) of the draft law. 
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3 arrangements, including the fit and proper requirements for persons responsible for the management of 
credit institutions11. 
 
This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   
 
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 13 April 2016.  
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI 
                                                 
11  See Article 4(1)(e) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013.