CySEC Urges Regulated Firms to Review Mokas Report on Money Laundering Risks

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has called on all regulated entities to carefully review the latest strategic analysis report released by the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (Mokas) for the years 2023–2024, emphasizing its importance in understanding emerging money laundering and terrorism financing threats.

In an announcement issued on Friday, CySEC explained that the Mokas report was developed following a thematic analysis of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) submitted to the unit throughout 2023 and 2024. The findings, the regulator noted, provide critical insights into suspicious activity trends, typologies, and risk patterns observed across the financial system.

According to CySEC, the report delivers essential intelligence that can help regulated entities categorize threats, prioritize report analysis using a risk-based approach, and ensure a more efficient allocation of compliance resources. It also includes feedback for the regulated sector, offering detailed typologies, red flag indicators, practical examples, and crime trend analyses aimed at improving firms’ ability to identify and disrupt illicit financial flows.

The commission underlined that the Mokas report serves as a key tool to strengthen firms’ internal frameworks in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. By leveraging the insights provided, entities can refine their monitoring systems, enhance due diligence measures, and align more closely with national anti-money laundering (AML) objectives.

“CySEC encourages the regulated entities to study the Mokas strategic analysis report and make use of the information provided,” said George Theocharides, chairman of the commission.

CySEC also highlighted that the report, which is available in English, is designed to help financial institutions and other supervised entities reinforce their compliance practices in line with Cyprus’s broader AML strategy.

Through this initiative, CySEC continues to support the strengthening of the island’s financial integrity framework, ensuring that all regulated entities remain vigilant and proactive in identifying and mitigating money laundering risks. 

By fLEXI tEAM