Kazakh FIU’s staff receive basic training on AML/CFT

On 20-22 January, 2009, in Astana, Kazakhstan, a workshop was held for the specialists of the Financial Monitoring Committee of Kazakhstan organized by the World Bank/UNODC in cooperation with the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Kazakh FIU.

20 FIU specialists received training in the course of the seminar.
 
The seminar was started by the opening words of the Head of the Financial Monitoring Committee of Kazakstan, Musyraly Utebayev, and the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, Alexandre Keltchewsky.
 
The training programme included presentations by Klaudijo Stroligo (World Bank/UNODC), Horst Intscher (former FINTRAC head, World Bank Advisor), Laura Vaik (General Prosecutor’s Office of Estonia, representative of Estonia in Eurojust).
 
Among the participants were also representatives from the National Security Committee, the National Bank and the Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Kazakhstan.
 
In the course of the training the following key topics were discussed:

• FIU models and basic operational principles
• Information requests, receiving and analyzing processes
• FIU data security
• International cooperation principles
• FIU cooperation with law-enforcement authorities 
• Procedure of suspending suspicious transactions 
• AML financial investigations – case studies

The EAG Secretariat also made a presentation on the problems of suspending suspicious transactions related to terrorism financing in Russia and FIU cooperation with law enforcement authorities.
 
The training received positive feedback from the trainees and organizers. Such training seminars have valuable input into the development of the FIUs for the Eurasian region and enhancement of general effectiveness of the national AML/CFT regimes in the EAG member-states, especially where the financial intelligence units have been formed recently.
 
Ad notam The Financial Monitoring Committee was established under the Kazakh Ministry of Finance by Government Order No 387, 24 April 2008. A Regional agency of the Financial Monitoring Committee was also established. It is called the Financial Monitoring Department of Almaty. The Committee coordinates the activities of the Department and controls the effectiveness of its work.