Inter-sessional EAG meeting, dedicated to the 5th anniversary, was held on October 6-7 in Moscow (Russia)

The meeting was presided over by the EAG Chairman and Aide to the President of Russia Oleg Markov. Among the participants of the meeting were heads and other representatives of the financial intelligence units, law-enforcement and supervisory authorities of the EAG member states (Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), as well as representatives of the EAG observer states and organizations including Italy, the USA, Ukraine, the Eurasian Economic Community, Collective Security Treaty Organization and Eurasian Development Bank.

The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolai Bordyuzha sent their congratulatory addresses to the EAG members on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the organization. 

The participants of the inter-session meeting discussed the results of the EAG activities for the 5 years. The EAG Chairman Oleg Markov stated that since the EAG foundation, its member states and observers have achieved considerable progress in building their national AML/CFT systems meaning creation of the legal and institutional framework for countering economic crime and terrorism. 

The majority of the EAG member states went through the mutual evaluation procedure and are undertaking necessary steps to bring their AML/CFT regimes in compliance with the international standards. 

The EAG, as a FATF-style regional body, effectively interacts with its international partners and carries out programs to provide technical and advisory assistance to its member states in developing their national AML/CFT systems. 

In the course of the inter-sessional meeting it was noted that in light of the spreading of transnational economic crimes and such global threats of the XXI century as drugtrafficking, international terrorism and interrelated financial infrastructure, human trafficking, cybercrime, the EAG strategic activities become ever more relevant. Thus the countries of the Eurasian region and their international partners are due to join their efforts in fighting these challenges in order to ensure the security of their national economics. 

The heads of the EAG member-states delegations acknowledged in their addresses the EAG role for harmonizing the region’s AML/CFT systems and commented on progress in their national regimes which was facilitated by the EAG activities. In particular, it was noted that due to the EAG assistance, the FIUs were created in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan as well as the AML/CFT legislation was adopted in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 

In the course of the past five years considerable improvements were made in the AML/CFT regimes of Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, which was indicated by the results of the mutual evaluations of these countries. 

In the framework of the event, the meetings of the EAG Working Group on Mutual Evaluations and Legal Issues and the Ad hoc Working Group were held alongside the Workshop on typologies. The participants of the latter discussed the current research projects on the following topics:

• “Laundering of proceeds from drugs, psychotropic agents and their precursors trafficking”;
• “External trade transactions as means of money laundering”;
• “Laundering of proceeds from budget funds embezzlement and abuse of power by heads of organizations with state ownership”

The 11th EAG Plenary will be held on December 7-9, in Guilin (China).