OSCE trains officials in Kazakhstan on combating money laundering and terrorism financing
ASTANA, 4 December 2012 – A three-day training course for government officials from Kazakhstan on international mechanisms and tools to combat money laundering and terrorism financing started in Astana today.
The event brought together some 70 representatives of the Financial Police Agency and its Academy, the Committee on Financial Monitoring of the Finance Ministry of Kazakhstan and the Association of Experts on Countering the Laundering of Illegal Assets, as well as the Supreme Court, the Astana and Akmola regional courts, the specialized intra-district Criminal Court, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Bank and commercial banks. It was conducted by experts from Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Addressing the participants, Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, noted: “A joint effort of the legislators and national financial intelligence units, banks, financial police, prosecution, courts and civil society in combating the legalization of unlawfully accumulated assets is a prerequisite for good governance, which helps ensure a fair and sound economic future for the country.”
"Today’s seminar will help define the banking sector’s role in preventing money laundering as well as facilitate the interaction of different agencies in this field," said General Andrey Lukin, the First Deputy Head of the Financial Police Agency of Kazakhstan.
The course is tailored to the specific needs of Kazakhstan’s authorities, and is based on the latest achievements and good practices in the relevant crime typologies and financial investigative techniques.
It is organized jointly by the OSCE Centre in Astana, the Financial Police of Kazakhstan and the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Office of the US Embassy in Kazakhstan.
This event concludes a series of seminars and training courses on good governance, combating money laundering, terrorism financing and corruption organized this year by the OSCE Centre in Astana jointly with its national and international partners.