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12 November 2018, 12:21

EAG Plenary Week kicks off in Minsk

MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) – The 29th Plenary Week of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) started in Minsk on 12 November, BelTA has learned.

From 12 to 16 November, the Belarusian capital will host the heads of the financial monitoring bodies who will discuss cooperation in anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in order to ensure regional and international stability, will review ways to approximate the legislation and train personnel in this field. All in all, the events will draw together about 250 experts - representatives of nine participating countries (Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), and also other countries and international organizations that have an observer status.

Today's schedule includes meetings of three working groups: on mutual evaluations and legal issues; on typologies and combating financing of terrorism and crime; and on technical assistance. “The experts will discuss the evaluation report of the national AML/CFT system of Tajikistan, the draft plan of Kyrgyzstan to eliminate the drawbacks revealed in their national system. The experts will also review the results of the typological studies on money-laundering through insurance organizations and cross-border drug trafficking schemes and legalization of drug proceeds using modern payment tools,” said Alexander Prakopenko, the co-char of the EAG working group, head of the first unit of the Financial Investigations Department of the State Control Committee of Belarus.

The plenary session, the main event of the week, will be held on 15-16 November. Its participants will approve decisions and proposals. The program will also include a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units and a seminar to prepare Belarus for the international assessment of the national anti-money laundering system. Such an assessment is carried out in each EAG member state. The assessment procedure in Belarus started in 2018, with the main stage scheduled for March 2019.

“This event is very important for Belarus. We will apply this experience to improve the national AML/CFT system in accordance with the required international standards,” Alexander Prakopenko said. According to him, positive assessment of the system is important in order to avoid getting into the black or gray lists of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). This may result in certain sanctions against the financial system of the country. With positive assessment, international financial institutions will consider Belarus a reliable partner.

Belarus is hosting the EAG Plenary Week for the second time. Minsk played host to the first forum in 2013. The main organizer of the events is the Department for Financial Monitoring of the State Control Committee of Belarus.

EAG was founded in 2004 with a view to intensifying joint efforts to fight financial crime and reduce the international terrorism threat. The Group includes nine states. 15 more states and 21 international organizations have an observer status in the organization. The EAG Plenary Week is held once a week.

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