The 41st Plenary Meeting of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) was held in Indore (Republic of India) on November 28-29. The meeting was attended by the representatives of all EAG member states, FATF and FSRBs Secretariats (MENAFATF, APG, ESAAMLG), as well as the following observers and invited delegations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Japan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, CIS APC, EADB, EEC, CIS Executive Committee, IMF, NDB, SCO, CHFIUs.
The Plenary meeting was chaired by the EAG Chairman, Director of Rosfinmonitoring Yury Chikhanchin.
The Plenary heard and adopted Mutual Evaluation Report of the Republic of India, conducted jointly with the FATF, as well as follow-up report of the Republic of Tajikistan.
The Plenary also heard an overview of the operational environment monitoring in the EAG member states in relation to emerging ML/TF risks for 2024. The analysis shows that legalization of criminal proceeds is carried out using multi-level schemes, including those involving professional money launderers which use cryptocurrencies, payment details of front persons (“mules”) and cash. In the area of terrorist financing, schemes using cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency wallets, which are opened mainly in the name of front persons, are also gaining popularity.
The Plenary reviewed the participants' best practices on operation of national anti-money laundering systems, implementation of specialized projects, and strengthening of research and educational capacity in the field of AML/CFT.
The annual Contest for the best cooperation between the competent authorities in the field of AML/CFT was held on the margins of the Plenary meeting. The Contest's winner was Russian Federation, and its laureates were Republic of Belarus and People’s Republic of China.
In addition, the Plenary heard a report on the projects of the International Training and Methodology Centre for Financial Monitoring, a leading donor and provider of technical assistance for EAG member states.
The Plenum supported the further development of the International Movement on Financial Security. Russia also informed the Plenary participants about the outcomes of the IV International Olympiad on Financial Security and Sirius 2024 Forum on Financial Security.
The Plenary approved the application of the United Arab Emirates for the EAG observer status.
An award ceremony of the Contest's winners among compliance officers of EAG financial institutions for the best AML/CFT financial analysis took place during the Plenary meeting. Republic of Kazakhstan became the Contest's winner, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Tajikistan became its laureates. The Russian bank received the audience sympathy prize. The 20th EAG anniversary award ceremony took place on the margins of the EAG Plenary Week.
The 42nd EAG Plenary session will be held on May 26-30, 2025 in Moscow.
