Following the seminars in Rome and Brussels, on 26th and 27th May, Women Lawyers’ Associations organised in Sofia the third training seminar of the European project LIGHT – Legal competency to prevent money-laundering and financing of terrorism: Illuminating dark corners, under the patronage of the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. The topics addressed were: KYC (know your client) and complex customer checks, beneficial ownership and reporting obligations.
After the welcome address, Ms. Mariyana Kancheva, judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union, intervened. She gave a detailed presentation on countering money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU legal order.
Assoc. Prof. Todor Kolarov, head of the National and International Security Department at the New Bulgarian University, moderated and introduced the two following panel sessions. Representatives of several institutions joined this panel. These institutions include the Specialised Administrative Department for Financial Intelligence of the State Agency for National Security, the Association of Banks in Bulgaria and the General Directorate National Police of the Ministry of Interior.
The afternoon was dedicated to a discussion on the practical problems faced by professionals in their daily work. Professionals coming from different countries exchanged their experiences. Then, the group work started, and participants – divided by profession – worked on some case studies.
On the second day, the chairman of the Sofia Bar Council Atty. Marchev and the chairman of the Sofia Regional Council of Notaries Notary Dimova-Savova welcomed the participants. Mr. Temnikov from the Bulgarian Association of European Law joined the following panel. He addressed the new EU rules on the protection of whistle-blowers.
The results of the previous group works were presented and discussed, with support from Prof. Kolarov and Dr Gergana Yordanova, from the Department of National and International Security at the New Bulgarian University. During the afternoon, Mr. Lessio from the Milan Bar Association brought the perspective of Italian lawyers. He presented the Italian legal framework and the usual practice on gathering and storing data.
In conclusion, this two-day training event has been a good opportunity to share information among different professions and countries.