The Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) project on strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in Azerbaijan is implemented in the framework of the second phase of the European Union/Council of Europe PGG programme. Its main objective is to contribute to democracy and the rule of law through implementation of institutional reforms aimed at enhancing capacities of Azerbaijani authorities to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorism financing and recover proceeds from crime in line with European and international standards.
Several beneficiaries, who directly participated in activities of the project, talk about their experiences and considerations about their collaboration with PGG II.
“The European Union/Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance II Project on Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery in Azerbaijan plays a significant role for Azerbaijan, supporting our government’s endeavours in developing a long-term sustainable policy to address the global challenges related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism in line with international standards and best practices. The project is of great importance as it also promotes institutional development and fosters the capacities of the Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijan. The trainings delivered within the framework of the project significantly contributed to addressing the operational needs of the Financial Monitoring Service and the effective implementation of its mandate. Furthermore, we benefited from the legal expertise provided to harmonise our national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation with international standards.
We hope that bilateral co-operation between the parties will continue in a tangible and visible manner in the future. We also believe that the projects initiated and implemented under the Partnership for Good Governance will exceptionally contribute to the realisation of Azerbaijan's medium and long-term development goals”.
Testimony by Mr Azer Aliyev, Director of the Legal Department
“Nowadays, the priority for the Financial Monitoring Service and Azerbaijan is the preparation for the expected fifth-round of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) evaluation. In this process, our legal and institutional framework will be thoroughly evaluated by the Council of Europe.
As a legal department of the Azerbaijani Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), we started to streamline the legal framework of Azerbaijan and drafted new anti-money laundering/countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) law and targeted financial sanctions law. These targeted draft laws will replace the current AML/CFT law and will be fully in line with international standards once approved.
Getting expert support in these mentioned draft laws was a great necessity for us and tremendous work was done by the Council of Europe expert under this Partnership for Good Governance project.
We achieved to prepare a comprehensive new draft AML/CFT law, and meanwhile, are working on other drafts of relevant legislative documents.
In order to achieve comprehensive harmonisation in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, we are also planning to review beneficial ownership and parallel financial investigation legislation, and we count on continuous Council of Europe support.
We hope that our future collaborative work will be as effective as the current one”.
Testimony by the representatives of the Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijan for the Open Source Intelligence Training (OSINT), 25-29 November 2019, Baku, Azerbaijan
“The Council of Europe experts managed to cover a comprehensive list of topics within a five-day training. One of the experts shared his experience as an investigator within the police service of the UK: planning of an online investigation, digital evidence capture and how to securely deploy an online false persona; whereas the other expert provided information on more technical aspects of conducting an investigation: internet architecture, website traces etc. This balancing of fundamental technical and research skills along with well-paced delivery of the content resulted in a training that was engaging, easy-to-follow and informative. The Council of Europe expert was also very kind to share his personal investigators dashboard with handy website links and various useful tools. Overall, the training helped to reinforce the prior knowledge and strengthen our research skills.”
“The Strategic Analysis training provided a holistic view on the importance of strategic analysis for the FIU and its interrelation and distinction with operational analysis. One of the Council of Europe experts covered the conceptual side of strategic analysis, while the other Council of Europe expert shared the expertise of Rosfinmonitoring*. The quick exercise helped for the knowledge gained during the training to sink in better. Both Council of Europe experts shared with us valuable insights on what to pay attention to when preparing National Risk Assessments, what mistakes to avoid etc. Overall, the training managed to convey the key messages of the strategic analysis.”
*The Federal Monitoring Service (FIU) of the Russian Federation
Testimony by Ms Shafiga Rzayeva, Leading Specialist of Strategic Analysis Division, Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijan
“So far, I had a chance to participate in three trainings organised by the Council of Europe, all of which have been essential to the work I am doing on a daily basis.
As an analyst I work quite a lot with data and the most recent training I had on Microsoft Power BI tool helped me to improve my technical skills in terms of creating automated reports customised to the needs of end users.
The OSINT training taught me how to pick and choose the correct and required information from the pool of data available online, where to search and what to pay attention to. Last but not least, the Strategic Analysis training provided a holistic view on how operational and strategic analysis can serve as a valuable source for each other.
I appreciate the opportunity I had to learn from the experts in each field”.