Major role of the notary's office in the fight against money laundering

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Published: February 27, 2023
Lovro Tomašić, BNotK and Metodija Ristoski, President of the North Macedonia Chamber of Notaries, answer questions from the media.
Lovro Tomašić, BNotK and Metodija Ristoski, President of the North Macedonia Chamber of Notaries, answer questions from the media.
North Macedonia

Major role of the notary's office in the fight against money laundering

Two events were held in Skopje (North Macedonia) on 26 October 2022 on the topic “The role of the notary's office in the fight against money laundering”. IRZ aims to use this measure to support the North Macedonia Chamber of Notaries in cooperation with the Federal Chamber of Notaries.

Notarial reporting obligations and recommendations for conduct

An internal workshop was held in the morning, which began with a welcome address from the President of the Chamber of Notaries of North Macedonia, Metodija Ristoski, notary Dr Lovro Tomašić and the IRZ project manager responsible, lawyer Dr Stefan Pürner.

Ana Jolaskoska, a notary in Skopje, and Dr Lovro Tomašić then spoke from the perspective of the participating countries. The topic was then discussed from the notary's internal perspective, with numerous examples of notarial reporting obligations and recommendations for conduct.

High level of interest from the media

President Metodija Ristoski and Dr Lovro Tomašić answered questions from the representatives from the media and press agencies in the country in a press conference.

Panel discussion

Dr Pürner moderated a public panel discussion in the afternoon. This gave Ana Jolakoska and Dr Lovro Tomašić and now also Blažo Trendafilov from the Department for Financial Investigations the opportunity to highlight that the notary's office performs a vital role for society as a whole that goes beyond individual legal transactions, particularly with respect to money laundering.

The intensive working day provided a collegial exchange of ideas and also raised awareness among the general public of the importance of the preventive administration of justice.

The event format used the experiences of the pandemic

Both events were held in hybrid form, so that notaries who were unable to attend the event in person could also participate online and engage in the information provided and in the exchange of experiences. This enabled IRZ and its partners to significantly increase the scope of the face-to-face events.