Bulgaria Launches AML Taskforce to Exit FATF Grey List
Bulgaria has taken a further step to strengthen its financial crime framework by establishing a dedicated anti-money laundering (AML) taskforce within the National Police. The move is part of a wider government strategy aimed at accelerating the country’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and restoring confidence among international investors and partners.
Interior Minister Daniel Mitov confirmed that the cabinet has formally approved the creation of the unit, which will act as a focal point for national efforts to detect and prevent money laundering and related offences. The initiative forms part of the corrective action plan agreed with FATF following Bulgaria’s inclusion on the grey list.
Mitov described the taskforce as a concrete step toward delisting, noting that its establishment reflects both domestic cooperation and extensive dialogue with international counterparts. He said the framework had been shaped through joint work between Bulgarian institutions and consultations with partners in the United States, the United Kingdom and across the European Union.
Centralised Coordination Within the Police
The new taskforce will operate under the General Directorate of the National Police and will be headed by Deputy Director Yavor Serafimov, who previously led Bulgaria’s main anti-organised crime unit. During his earlier tenure, Serafimov oversaw investigations into cybercrime, corruption, economic offences and human and drug trafficking experience that authorities believe will be critical in tackling sophisticated money-laundering schemes.
Rather than functioning as a separate agency, the taskforce has been designed as a coordination platform linking law enforcement bodies with financial supervisors and tax authorities. One of its key partners will be the National Revenue Agency (NRA), which assumed responsibility for gambling oversight in 2020 following the dissolution of the State Commission on Gambling.
The NRA already supervises licensing and compliance for both online and land-based gambling operators and administers the country’s self-exclusion register. Its integration into the AML taskforce is intended to improve oversight of higher-risk sectors and enhance the exchange of intelligence on suspicious activity, including transactions connected to gambling, digital commerce and cross-border payments.
Impact of Grey-List Status
Bulgaria was placed under FATF’s enhanced monitoring regime in October 2023 after the organisation identified weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. Grey-list status typically triggers heightened scrutiny from banks and multinational firms, increasing compliance burdens and in some cases, restricting access to international financial services.
For licensed gambling and betting operators, such designation can complicate relationships with foreign payment processors and investors. Similar challenges were previously experienced in other jurisdictions, including Gibraltar, where gaming companies faced intensified due diligence requirements from European banks until the territory was removed from the grey list in 2024.
In recent years, Bulgarian authorities have already moved to curb illegal gambling-related money flows by blocking large numbers of unlicensed websites and instructing payment providers to cease processing transactions for black-market operators. The newly formed taskforce is expected to formalise and strengthen these efforts by coordinating investigations, prioritising high-risk cases and ensuring enforcement actions meet FATF evidentiary standards.
Aligning With International Expectations
The decision comes as FATF continues to refine its approach to enhanced monitoring, placing greater emphasis on jurisdictions that pose systemic risks or fail to demonstrate effective enforcement. Several countries have exited the grey list following sustained reform programmes, while others remain under close review.
Against this backdrop, Bulgarian officials are keen to position the country as a cooperative and reform-oriented jurisdiction. Mitov emphasised that authorities are focused not only on legislative alignment but also on practical enforcement, stating that institutions must ensure rules are applied consistently and effectively.
While no official timetable has been announced for Bulgaria’s removal from the grey list, government representatives have indicated that, provided reforms progress as planned and on-site assessments confirm their effectiveness, an exit around 2026 is considered achievable.
