Strong banking sector controls on money-laundering

Shortly after independence in 1990, the citizens of Pridnestrovie realized that for the republic to succeed, we needed financial freedom and independence, too. Our sovereignty required financial independence as an important and indispensable attribute of the statehood. So we made the formation of a propietary monetary and credit system a priority at the initial stage of consolidation of the republic.
Today, a two-tier bank system has been formed in Pridnestrovie: the upper level is represented by the Central Bank; the lower level by a network of commercial banks including eight national banks (three of them with foreign investments), and 27 branches located in all of the country's territory.

The bank system of the republic is modern and on par with advanced European banking centers like Luxembourg or Liechtenstein, both of which are smaller than Pridnestrovie in terms of population and territory. Securities such as obligations, deposit certificates and bills are issued; an electronic system of inter-bank payments and systems of fast money transfer Western union, MIGom, the system of consumers’ credits has been developed. The Agroindustrial bank introduced a system of electronic plastic cards “Raduga” (“Rainbow”) in 2004.

In recent years, Pridnestrovie's government - and in particular the country's Central Bank - has stepped up supervision of the private banking sector and redoubled its efforts to make sure that moneylaundering does not take place within the territory of the republic. The proactive approach to the problem appears to have worked: So far, Pridnestrovie has been fortunate and has avoided the worst abuses of international criminal organizations. Whereas neighboring countries (and in particular Moldova) have been stomping grounds for Black Sea mafyias and their money laundering schemes, banks in Pridnestrovie have been able to attract a better quality of clients. Starting in 2002, the Central Bank obliged all banks operating within the country to follow the Wolfsberg Anti Money Laundering principles. In a nutshell, the Wolfsberg Principles were developed by twelve of the world's largest banks (including Barclays, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase) along with Transparency International as a set of best-of-class financial services industry standards. By adhering to these standards we ensure that Pridnestrovie is not, nor will become, a "black hole" for money of dubious origin.

The full functioning of the financial system of Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica involved the creation of our own monetary unit. In August 1994 our own local currency was put into circulation, the PMR Ruble. It is a freely convertible currency. Click here to read more about our local currency.

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