On 3 March 2021, a webinar on the Council of Europe legal instruments and monitoring mechanisms in the area of laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime was organised in co-operation with the State Financial Intelligence Service of the Kyrgyz Republic. 

The main objective of the event was to respond to the authorities’ interest in learning more about the Council of Europe Strasbourg (ETS No.141) and Warsaw Conventions (CETS No.198), their accession procedure, as well as monitoring mechanisms. The authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic involved in anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism activities were represented by the State Financial Intelligence Service, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Council of Europe experts provided an overview of the Council of Europe Strasbourg and Warsaw Conventions, their mechanisms for accession and country-specific cases of their implementation. The authorities had an opportunity to explore issues of interest regarding country evaluation process, mutual legal assistance possibilities, communication channels and existing opportunities for international cooperation between financial intelligence units. In addition, the activity provided a platform for discussing future co-operation priorities between the Council of Europe and the authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic  in the areas of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.

The webinar was organised within the framework of the action “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” which is part of the joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe - Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023. The action aims at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan.