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From February 24 to 28, Minsk is hosting the International Seminar on the Study of FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Standards. The main goal of the event is to study FATF standards and best practices for their implementation in national legislation. The seminar is attended by representatives of the Eurasian Group (EAG) on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which includes nine countries: Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. They will learn about the experience of other countries in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

"We are well aware of the importance of the event," Dmitry Zakharov, Director of the Financial Monitoring Department of the State Control Committee said. "We understand that the effectiveness of our national systems and the implementation of the most progressive norms laid down in the FATF recommendations depend on how well we know international standards. Now is a very difficult time for the entire Eurasian community. The third round of assessments is beginning, and given that over the past 10 years, especially two years, there have been significant changes in the FATF recommendations, we must do everything possible to thoroughly work them out and implement all these standards in our regulatory documents,” BELTA reports.

The FATF standards in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing are mandatory for all countries in the world. In recent years, the FATF standards have been significantly revised based on new challenges and threats, including in the areas of cryptocurrencies and digital currencies, virtual assets, etc. It was reported at the seminar that the FATF has developed about 40 recommendations, which are international standards. They cover various aspects of the financial life of the state, principles of combating various criminal, criminal manifestations that must be implemented in each country that undertakes the relevant obligations.

Attention to a closer study of the FATF standards is due to the upcoming round of assessments of the national anti-money laundering systems of the countries included in the EAG. During such assessments, EAG assessors study the extent to which countries comply with the FATF standards, including legislation in this area, the interaction of government agencies with the private sector, the coordination of law enforcement agencies, etc. Before the international assessment, all countries conduct a national risk assessment, and changes are made to the legislation.

The organizers of the seminar are the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) and the Financial Monitoring Department of the State Control Committee. According to Dmitry Zakharov, such seminars, which are held under the auspices of the Eurasian Group, are very useful because its secretariat is a filter that accumulates all the best practices taking into account international experience, and tries to convey to the participants the main approaches to interpreting certain FATF recommendations. The experts who will conduct the seminars this week will do everything possible to discuss, convey to the participants the essence of these recommendations in order to adhere to a clear, reasonable, logical approach to their implementation.

ORIENT

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Photo: BELTA