Ashgabat agreed on the establishment of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network in West and Central Asia
Depriving criminals of illicit income, curbing illegal financial flows and recovering assets are vital in the fight against transnational organized crime. Regardless of the source of criminal proceeds - drug trafficking, corruption, fraud and other criminal activities - this evil can be overcome only by coordinated efforts of all the affected countries, which is also relevant for Western and Central Asia, since money laundering is a global problem. In this context, high hopes are placed on the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Networks (ARIN), which is in the process of establishment by the national stakeholders with the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The meeting on the introduction of this instrument in the region was held recently in Ashgabat. Organized by the UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries, the event was attended by law enforcement officials and prosecutors from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The main outcome of the meeting in the Turkmen capital was agreeing upon agreed upon the Statement of Intent (SoI) which can be considered the founding document of the Network. In the same meeting participants also agreed on the official name (ARIN-WCA) – Asset Recovery Interagency Network in Western and Central Asia. A number of organizational issues have also been resolved – the rules governing the rotation of the Presidency, the membership of the network, the frequency of the annual general meeting and steering committee meetings. The General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan and nominated as the Secretariat of the Network. The network will be officially launched on the first week of November and, will be hosted by the country that will assume the first Presidency of ARIN-WCA. Toyly Batyrov, Senior Legal Adviser of the Law and International Relations Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan welcomed the extremely positive outcome of the meeting and stated “I am sure the Asset Recovery Network in West and Central Asia will be successful as time is mature for such an initiative”. Danilo Campisi, Regional Coordinator of the Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighboring Countries, in his closing remarks said that "the Regional Programme will make all possible efforts to support the Network in the coming years until it will be self-sustainable, and to provide technical support to the Presidency and the Secretariat as needed".
