- Overview of the EAG Plenary Meeting
On November 21-25, 2022, in Dushanbe (Republic of Tajikistan), in a hybrid format, meetings of the working groups and the 37th Plenary Meeting of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) were held. The representatives of the EAG member states and observers, as well as the FATF Secretariat and member states took part in the event.
The Plenary was chaired by the EAG Chairman, Mr. Yu. Chikhanchin (Russian Federation) and the EAG Deputy Chairman, Mr. D. Khalbaev (Turkmenistan).
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr. Usmonali Yunusali Usmonzoda, addressed the Plenary Meeting with a welcoming speech.
- Key Issues of the Plenary Meeting
The Plenary heard the 4th Follow-up Report of the Kyrgyz Republic with the review of technical compliance ratings as part of the 2nd round of the EAG mutual evaluations and noted the country s progress in improving the AML/CFT system. It was agreed to upgrade the rating of one of the FATF Recommendations. The next follow-up report will be presented at the 39th EAG Plenary Meeting.
The Plenary heard the 1st Follow-up Report of the Republic of Belarus without reviewing the technical compliance ratings as part of the 2nd round of the EAG mutual evaluations and noted the country s progress in improving the AML/CFT system.
The Plenary adopted the EAG Work Plan for 2023.
By the decision of the Plenary Meeting, amendments were made to the Procedures for the EAG Second Round of Mutual Evaluations, as well as to the Rules of Procedure for EAG Plenary and Working Group meetings.
The Plenary elected co-chairs for all three working groups for 2022-2024.
The Plenary adopted the results of the typology project: «Laundering of the proceeds from tax and entrepreneurial crimes» led by the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the typology project: «Legalization (laundering) of the proceeds of cybercrime and financing of terrorism through these crimes, including the use of electronic money or virtual assets and the infrastructure of their providers» led by the Russian Federation.
The Plenary adopted the plan to minimize identified regional ML/TF risks in the Eurasian region, approved the concept notes and launch of the following typological projects: under the leadership of the Russian Federation, a project included in the priorities of the Russian chairmanship in the EAG: «Monitoring the risks of using virtual assets for criminal purposes», as well as a project led by the Republic of India: «Laundering of the proceeds from corruption offences and crimes against the interests of the public service».
The Plenary approved the time limits for the implementation of projects to develop methodological guidelines on risk assessment and application of a risk-based approach in the NPO sector - by November 2023, as well as to develop recommendations for conducting a sectoral ML/TF risk assessment - by May 2023.
The Plenary adopted the Technical Assistance (TA) Plans for the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Belarus. Extension of the TA Plan for the Republic of Tajikistan until 2024 was approved. The role of the ITMCFM as a leading donor in the implementation of the TA project plans for the EAG member states was noted.
The Plenary appreciated the results of the Forum of Parliamentarians of the EAG Member States, which took place on November 23, 2022, and approved the final declaration of its participants.
The Plenary also appreciated the outcomes of the second AML/CFT Forum of the Eurasian Group held in Nur-Sultan (Republic of Kazakhstan) on July 19-20, 2022 for representatives of law enforcement agencies and financial intelligence units of the EAG member states, and of the CIS ATC/ITMCFM Joint Training and the EAG/CIS ATC/ITMCFM/OSCE Joint Seminar on Combating Terrorist Financing, which took place in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) on November 9-11, 2022.
The Plenary approved the Regulations on the EAG Contest among compliance specialists of financial institutions of the EAG member states for the best financial analysis in the field of AML/CFT and the best example of a risk profile. The winner and prize-winners of the first contest of the Eurasian Group among financial institutions were awarded.
Within the framework of the Plenary Meeting, the annual Contest for the best cooperation between the competent authorities and organizations in the field of AML/CFT was held. The Republic of Belarus became the winner of the 9th Contest, the People s Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan became its laureates.
The Plenary appreciated the results of the second International Financial Security Olympiad, which was held at the initiative of the Russian Federation from May to October 2022. Within the framework of the «Sirius-2022» International Financial Security Forum, which took place on the margins of the Olympiad, a sectional conference «Improving the financial literacy of the population and protection of people from illegal participants in the financial market» was held with the participation of representatives of the banking supervisory authorities of the EAG member states. The important role of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the International Network AML/CFT Institute, ITMCFM, and the EAG Secretariat in the preparation and holding of the International Financial Security Olympiad was noted.
Within the framework of the Plenary week, a seminar was held on the updated FATF Standards and Methodologies, which is intended to increase the expert potential of the Eurasian Group member states.
- Other matters
The Plenary Meeting expressed its gratitude to the Republic of Tajikistan for the hospitality and high level of organization of the 37th EAG Plenary Meeting and the meetings of the EAG working groups.
The 38th EAG Plenary Meeting will be held in June 2023 in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
