Turkmenistan ready to sign agreement with EAG

Turkmenistan is ready to sign an agreement with the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG), an official Turkmen source said on Monday.

The document has been approved by the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov, who at a recent government meeting said that "intensifying cooperation with all world countries and authoritative international financial institutions is a key aspect of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy strategy".

He said work done in this sphere contributes to "realization of the comprehensive measures to increase the country’s economic power".

Turkmenistan joined the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism in 2007, becoming its full member last year. Prior to that, the country adopted the Law on Combating Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism.

The EAG was established in 2004 and includes such countries as Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

A delegation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) visits Ashgabat regularly.

Early this year an interdepartmental coordinating working committee was established under the Turkmen Finance Ministry to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism in Turkmenistan.

Source: Trend

OSCE familiarizes Turkmenistan with money-laundering prevention mechanisms

Ashgabat hosts the OSCE -supported workshop on prevention of money-laundering by applying international mechanisms, tools and best practices, OSCE said.

The five-day workshop was organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat in co-operation with the OSCE Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. Representatives from the Finance Ministry, Economy and Development Ministry, Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Prosecutor's Office, National Security Ministry, Supreme and Arbitration Courts, Justice Ministry, State Border Service, State Customs Service, Central Bank, State Tax Service and Foreign Ministry are attending the workshop.

Several international experts will share with participants their experiences in a wide range of areas, including European mechanisms of preventing money laundering, financial tools to detect terrorism and extremism financing, as well as investigating cases of financing proliferation activities. The workshop participants will look at case studies on money laundering in offshore zones, and money laundering-related IT crimes; they will also discuss methods of combating corruption and bribery.

"Money-laundering and its consequences pose a serious threat to national and international security", Ambassador Sergei Belyaev, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, said.

"This training workshop marks another positive step in Turkmenistan-OSCE co-operation; it demonstrates the continuous willingness of Turkmenistan to engage in working with international partners in promoting good governance," he added.

"We believe today's event will contribute to national capacity-building and enhance the commitment of the country's authorities to combating money laundering," Belyaev said.

Source: Trend.AZ

UK Treasury backs warning of "serious threats" to international finance

The UK's Treasury has backed warnings from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that the international financial system could face "serious threats" from deficiencies in the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) systems of countries including Iran and Pakistan.

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were also flagged up by the FATF as countries that face AML and CTF deficiencies, along with the island of Sao Tome off the coast of west Africa and the northern part of Cyprus.

As a result of the warnings, the Treasury has advised all UK businesses covered by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 to treat transactions from Iran and Uzbekistan as "situations that by their nature can present a higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing" and therefore require increased scrutiny.

People operating under the authorisation of the Financial Services Authority should also consider the advice when developing their counter-financial crime systems in order to minimise risk, it added.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body that seeks to develop nationally and internationally adopted anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policies.

Source: Bobsguide

FATF Statement - 16 October 2008

IRAN
The FATF welcomes Iran’s recent engagement with the international community on anti-money laundering, notes the initial steps taken towards remedying the deficiencies in this area, and urges Iran to address the remaining weaknesses.

The FATF is particularly concerned that the lack of corresponding effort by Iran to address the risk of terrorist financing continues to pose a serious threat to the integrity of the international financial system. Urgent action to address this vulnerability is necessary.

The FATF calls on its members, and urges all jurisdictions, to strengthen preventive measures to protect their financial sectors from this risk.

The FATF is prepared to engage directly in assisting Iran in decisively addressing the weaknesses in its AML/CFT regime.

UZBEKISTAN
The FATF takes note of the action plan prepared by Uzbekistan to address deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime.

The FATF is increasingly concerned that the continuing failure by Uzbekistan to restore its AML/CFT regime poses a serious threat to the integrity of the international financial system. Urgent action to address this vulnerability and to meet international standards is necessary.

The FATF calls on its members, and urges all jurisdictions, to strengthen preventive measures to protect their financial sectors from this risk.

The FATF, along with the Eurasian Group, is prepared to engage directly in assisting Uzbekistan in developing a robust AML/CFT regime.

TURKMENISTAN
The FATF notes Turkmenistan’s efforts towards adopting AML legislation. However, financial institutions should be aware that the lack of an AML/CFT regime in Turkmenistan constitutes a money laundering/terrorist financing vulnerability in the international financial system. Turkmenistan is urged to continue its efforts to establish a comprehensive AML/CFT regime that meets international AML/CFT standards and to work closely with the Eurasian Group and the International Monetary Fund to achieve this.

PAKISTAN AND SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
The FATF reaffirms its public statement of 28 February 2008 regarding the money laundering and financing of terrorism risks posed by Pakistan and Sao Tome and Principe.

AML/CFT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF CYPRUS
The FATF welcomes the significant progress made in the northern part of Cyprus and notes that the northern part of Cyprus has substantially addressed the AML/CFT deficiencies that the FATF had identified. FATF encourages the northern part of Cyprus to continue to improve its AML/CFT system. Implementation will be monitored through appropriate mechanisms.

Source: FATF Website