Laura has an important experience in combating financial crime, including fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, organised criminality, corruption and in countering terrorism financing. She worked for 15 years within the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering/the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Romania and 7 years in the consultancy field.

Laura has an extensive national experience in the area of compliance assessments, audits, risk assessments and investigations in the field of preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing (AML / CFT), application of international sanctions, anti-corruption and anti-fraud, services performed for the public and the private sectors.

Mrs. Lica-Banu is certified law enforcement evaluator of the Moneyval/Council of Europe (COE) and rapporteur for countries assessment on 2005 Council of Europe Warsaw Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS 198). During the period 2011-2014, she worked as expert within the European Commission’ Committee for Prevention Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing - CPMLTF (chaired by DG MARKT) and was member of the EU-FIU Platform (chaired by DG HOME/Europol). She also participated as expert in the EU Council Working Groups (Financial Services, COTER and RELEX).

Laura was also the national technical coordinator for negotiation of the AML package (the 4th EU AML Directive and AML Regulation) on behalf of Romania and she took part in the group of experts at national level for negotiation of the draft Directive on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law. Laura is author/co-author of guidelines on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing for Romania and Republic of Moldova. She was also the Project Leader of the Financial Investigation Project of the Egmont Group.

Laura has a Degree in Law, being specialised in International Public Law and Acquis Communautaire. She holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and a PhD on Countering Terrorism Financing. She holds a certificate on asset-tracing and recovery granted by the Basel Institute on Governance.

She is Romanian native speaker and fluent in English. She is also familiar with Italian, Spanish and Czech.

LinkedIn Profile