Results of the 34th EAG Plenary meeting

I.    General information about the EAG Plenary Meeting

The 34th EAG Plenary and working groups meetings were held remotely on 24–27 of May and on 2–3 of June, 2021. The meetings were attended by the representatives of the EAG Member States, the FATF Secretariat, and observer states and organisations of the Group. 

The Plenary was headed by the EAG Chairman Mr. Yu. Chikhanchin (Russian Federation). 

The Plenary Meeting approved Ms. T. Salimova (Republic of Tajikistan) as the EAG Deputy Chairman with the terms of office until the end of 2021. 

II.    Most critical issues of the Plenary Meeting 

Despite the existing restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EAG Member States continue the cooperation with a view to strengthen the national AML/CFT systems. In this regard, they receive the necessary technical assistance (“TA”) from donors and providers. 

The Plenary Meeting approved amendments to the HR-related documents, the EAG Budget for 2022, the EAG Annual report for 2020, the EAG work plan for the 2nd half of 2021, as well as the modality of the short-term secondment of experts from the EAG Member States to the EAG Secretariat. 

Concerning changes to the EAG Statutory Documents, the Plenary Meeting issued a separate public statement. 

The Plenary Meeting heard the 2nd progress report of the Republic of Tajikistan with the request to revise technical compliance ratings as part of the second round of EAG mutual evaluations and noted the progress made by the country in terms of improving the AML/CFT system. The Plenary Meeting agreed to upgrade a number of FATF Recommendations. The report will be published on the EAG website soon after the FATF Quality and Consistency procedure is over. The next progress report will be presented at the 36th EAG Plenary Meeting. 

The Plenary Meeting agreed upon the changes to the Schedule of the second round of mutual evaluations in the EAG Member States and the Schedule of EAG Plenary Meetings in 2022–2026. 

The Plenary Meeting expressed the hope of strengthening of cooperation between the EAG and the Eurasian Economic Commission in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed during the intersessional period. 

The Plenary participants were presented with reports of the Secretariat on the implementation of the pilot project on TA coordination in the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as on TA provided to the Republic of Kazakhstan. The EAG Member States expressed gratitude to donors and providers involved in the provision of TA: the Asian Development Bank, the USA (through the FSVC), Interpol, the International Monetary Fund, the International Training and Methodology Centre for Financial Monitoring, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and others. The Plenary noted the importance of the information provided by ITMCFM on "New formats of cooperation" in the framework of providing TA.

The Plenary Meeting approved proposals on improvement of TA coordination to the EAG Member States, as well as approved the reporting format for the EAG observers and changes in the format for provision of information by the EAG Member States.

The Plenary Meeting agreed on the amendments to the EAG Guidelines on conducting typologies projects and approved the results of the typologies research on “Typologies of the use of preventive measures of financial institutions for crime detection and risk assessment”. The Plenary participants agreed upon the work plans within the framework of the on-going typologies projects- Optimization and review of previous EAG projects and the EAG AML/CFT financial investigation guidance. 

Proposals for a mechanism to monitor the operational environment in the EAG Member States in terms of new risks, as well as preliminary reports of three sub-regions as part of a project relating to the identification of ML/TF risks in the Eurasian region were discussed. The Plenary Meeting approved the Project plan on improvement of the mechanisms of the risk-based approach in supervisory activities in the EAG region. 

The Republic of Kazakhstan presented the project "Front Office", which aims to improve the interaction of the financial intelligence unit of Kazakhstan with the subjects of financial monitoring and the introduction of remote monitoring.

The Plenary summarized the results of the first meeting of the International Compliance Council, which has proved to be an effective platform for cooperation between representatives of the private sector and supervisory authorities and financial intelligence units of EAG member states.

III.    Miscellaneous

The Plenary Meeting extended its gratitude to the ITMCFM for its excellent organisation of the EAG virtual 34th Plenary and working group meetings. 

The 35th EAG Plenary will be held in Moscow (Russian Federation) in November, 2021.