Eurasian Group Forum on AML/CFT and the Meeting of the EAG Heads of delegations in a narrow format were held from 19 to 21 July in the Republic of Kazakhstan

From 19th till 20th July 2022 in Nur-Sultan city of Kazakhstan, the 2nd Forum of Eurasian Group on AML/CFT was held for representatives of law enforcement bodies and financial intelligence units of the EAG Member States. 

The Forum was organized by the EAG Secretariat, the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on financial monitoring, and the International Training and Methodical Center of Financial Monitoring (ITMCFM, Russia) and was held in a hybrid format. 

The subject for discussion at the Forum was ensuring of effective revealing, investigation and judicial consideration of criminal cases on laundering (legalization) of criminal proceeds (ML).

The EAG Chairman - Director of Rosfinmonitoring Yury Chikhanchin, Chairman of the Agency for Financial Monitoring of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhanat Elimanov and EAG Executive Secretary Sergey Teterukov addressed the participants of the Forum with welcome speeches.

More than 100 people took part in the Forum. 25 speakers made reports and made presentations, among them were FATF Secretariat representatives John Carlson and Dmitry Putyatin, international expert Igoris Krzeczkovskis, Brigadier General of the Italian Guardia di Finanza Maurizio Muscara, representative of Swedish prosecutor's office Jan Tibbling, representatives of FIUs, law enforcement authorities and judicial authorities of EAG Member States and Observers.

The Forum showed that the detailed analysis of all aspects of detection, investigation and adjudication of ML offences, both practical and theoretical, remains relevant in the EAG Member States.

Within the sessions of the Forum, the participants shared their experiences and exchanged views on the issues of regulation of financial investigations, national and international cooperation, peculiarities of detection, investigation and adjudication of ML cases on various types of predicate offences.

Heads of delegations of the EAG Member States on 21 July 2022 also held the meeting in a narrow format, discussing in the context of the Forum topic the results of the regional ML/TF risk assessment and possible measures to minimise them, issues of sharing experience on strengthening knowledge and skills of the national AML/CFT systems participants on the example of training and methodological centres, as well as the need for a uniform EAG Member States feedback form on ML/TF enquiries.

As a result of the meeting, the heads of delegations of the EAG Member states have noted the holding of the EAG AML/CFT Forum and its results as an essential contribution to further strengthening the national AML/CFT/CPF systems and increasing the export potential of the national experts, and also have underlined usefulness and further necessity of carrying out the targeted activities for the participants of national AML/CFT/CPF systems within the framework of the EAG typological projects being carried out in EAG.

The high level of organising and conducting of the Forum was also noted by its participants.

The EAG Secretariat expresses its gratitude to all participants of the Forum and speakers for active participation and informative discussion, as well as to the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Financial Monitoring and ITMCFM for assistance in organisation and holding of the Forum.

The next Forum is planned to be held in 2023.

EAG Secretariat