Results of the 38th EAG Plenary meeting

I.                   General Information about the EAG Plenary Meeting

The meetings of the EAG Working Groups and the 38th Plenary meeting of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) were held in hybrid format in Almaty (Republic of Kazakhstan) on June 4-9, 2023. The meetings were attended by the representatives of the EAG Member States and observers, the FATF Members and Secretariat as well as FATF-style regional bodies, Republic of Azerbaijan and the UAE.

The Plenary was chaired by the EAG Chairman Mr. Yury Chikhanchin (Russian Federation) and the EAG Deputy Chairman Mr. Dovran Khalbaev (Turkmenistan).

The welcome address to the Plenary of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was made by the Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Olzhas Bektenov.

II.                Key Issues of the Plenary Agenda

The Plenary adopted the Mutual evaluation Report and the Executive Summary of Turkmenistan under the 2^nd Round of EAG mutual evaluations.

The Plenary adopted the Mutual evaluation Report and the Executive Summary of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the 2^nd Round of EAG mutual evaluations.

The Plenary considered the 4^th follow-up report of the Republic of Tajikistan without TC re-rating under the 2^nd round of the EAG mutual evaluations and noted the progress made by the country in improving its AML/CFT system.

The Plenary considered the 1^st follow-up report of the Republic of Uzbekistan with TC re-rating under the 2^nd round of the EAG mutual evaluations and noted the progress made by the country in improving its national AML/CFT system.

The Plenary, having heard the information of the Kyrgyz Republic on the law "On voluntary legalization and amnesty of assets of individuals" adopted by the Parliament, noted the need for legal analysis of this law and preparation of the relevant report according to the EAG procedure, and also called the Kyrgyz Republic to implement this law in compliance with the basic FATF principles.

The Plenary agreed to grant the EAG observer status to the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CHFIU). The delegations noted the importance of cooperative engagement with CHFIU and expressed hope for fruitful cooperation.

The Plenary Meeting approved the EAG Budget for 2024, the EAG Annual report for 2022, the EAG work plan for the 2nd half of 2023 and 2024.

The Plenary approved a new version of the Regulation for the Contest for the best cooperation between the competent authorities in the field of combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Plenary adopted a concept note on the development of the EAG typologies registry and the outcomes of the typologies project on "Typologies and trends in combatting terrorist financing". An update on the risks associated with instability in Afghanistan has been delivered and the next steps in the implementation of appropriate monitoring have been identified.

The Plenary took note of the ongoing results of the Plan (roadmap) to minimize regional ML/TF risks and approved an addendum to the Plan.

The Plenary approved the results of the project to develop "The best practices for sectoral ML/TF risk assessment", implemented by the representatives of the EAG Member States supervisory authorities at the initiative of the Russian Federation.

The Plenary adopted the launch of the Single technical assistance coordination information system of the EAG (STACS) on the EAG website. The EAG STACS objectives is to improve TA coordination in the Eurasian region in order to strengthen the effectiveness of EAG Member States' national AML/CFT systems and their compliance with FATF Standards.

The Plenary heard the reports on implementation of TA coordination projects to the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The role of ITMCFM as a leading donor in implementation of TA project plans for the EAG Member States was noted.

The Plenary heard the information about legislative policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in AML/CFT sphere and the Strategic Plan of IRIFIU, including strategic priorities, projects and applicable programs.

The Plenary positively noted the outcomes of the EAG Supervisory Forum and the International Compliance Council Meeting and also took note of the publication on the EAG website of a brochure of typological schemes presented at the first competition among banks.

The Plenary positively noted the work accomplished on the publication of the speeches of the first Forum of Parliamentarians of the EAG Member States on the EAG and ITMCFM website, as well as distribution of brochures to EAG Member States and observers. The Plenary was informed about the results of the Second Forum of Parliamentarians of the EAG Member States held on June 6, 2023, to discuss legislative practices to combat the financing of terrorism, extremism and radicalization of the youth in the EAG Member States.

III.             Other Issues

The Plenary expressed support for the activities of the International Network AML/CFT Institute member universities in holding the International Financial Security Olympiad, including the creation of an International Scientific and Educational Digital Platform "SODRUZHESTVO" and the functioning of the Center for Inter-Olympic Training of Schoolchildren and Students at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The Plenary expressed gratitude to the Republic of Kazakhstan for the hospitality and excellent organization of the 38^th EAG Plenary and its working groups meetings as well as the Forum of Parliamentarians of the EAG Member States.

The 39th EAG Plenary meeting will be held in the People's Republic of China in November 2023.