OSCE promotes best practices in anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing efforts in Turkmenistan

An OSCE-supported online seminar, held from 2 to 4 August 2021, focused on preparations for the Eurasian group’s (EAG) evaluation of Turkmenistan’s compliance to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) standards on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). Representatives of different law enforcement agencies, supervisory bodies, reporting entities, non-governmental organizations and other relevant government agencies and the private sector involved in the EAG evaluation process attended the seminar.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the seminar to facilitate discussions on the FATF methodology used to assess compliance with the FATF recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems.

“As part of its mandate, the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat follows key AML/CFT developments and effectively co-operates with the Government of Turkmenistan in promoting the principles of good governance, countering money laundering and terrorist financing,” said William Leaf, Officer in Charge of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “It is our strong belief that this event will support the efforts of relevant institutions of Turkmenistan to prepare for the EAG’s mutual evaluation this year.”

Two international experts from Lithuania and Belarus highlighted specifics of the FATF methodology, including 11 immediate outcomes and 40 recommendations, and introduced participants to the key elements of the mutual evaluation interviewing process and provision of data and statistics on technical compliance and effectiveness.

The seminar is a continuation of the Centre’s long-term support to the Government of Turkmenistan in advancing its AML/CFT system in compliance with FATF standards, provided within the project “Enhancing the capacities of the host country to address main economic challenges by improving good economic governance”.