Technical Assistance provided to Kazakhstan to effectively implement the recommendations of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO)

Promoting transparency and action against economic crime

Over the recent years the countries of Central Asia have pursued reforms designed to prevent and punish corrupt practices in order to improve business climate in the region and promote sustainable economic development for the benefit of all. The present Action aims to contribute to improving the conditions for businesses and to enhancing the quality of anti-corruption systems across the region. The Action comprises two components: 1) Business integrity and compliance; 2) Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and asset recovery systems.

Business integrity and compliance

Enhancing transparency, business integrity and the protection of rights of entrepreneurs is one of the priorities of the countries of the Central Asian region. The current Action focuses on establishing mechanisms and enhancing capacities to address extortion and solicitation from businesses, reducing administrative barriers and enhancing compliance across the business sector. On the regional level, the aim of the intervention is to establish effective mechanisms for sharing good practices and to contribute to developing a clearer understanding of the common regional and cross-border corruption risks facing the business sector. On the national level, the Action focuses on the specific priorities of the respective countries in the abovementioned thematic areas and seeks to provide tailor-made assistance to reforms.

Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and asset recovery systems

Work in this area concentrates on improving mechanisms and capacities of authorities, including law enforcement, to prevent and tackle corruption, money laundering and economic crime as well as on strengthening national systems to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The regional dimension of the component includes conducting studies on corruption and economic crime focusing on specific regional risks and threats, and regional cascade training programmes for law enforcement personnel and civil service staff. The national dimension focuses on the specific needs and demand, depending on the national contexts and reform processes.

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Technical Assistance provided to Kazakhstan to effectively implement the recommendations of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO)

A delegation of 25 public officials representing 13 institutions from Kazakhstan participated in a workshop organised by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 21 June 2023. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the effective implementation of the recommendations issued by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) to Kazakhstan in the framework of the joint first and second evaluations rounds.

After Kazakhstan joined GRECO in 2020, the country has received its first evaluation report in 2022, which covered the first and second rounds, and included 27 specific recommendations.

Five Council of Europe experts, shared with participants related experiences and practices in the implementation of GRECO recommendations that were similar to those addressed to Kazakhstan.

Some of the topics covered during the sessions included the specialisation of national bodies in the prevention and fight against corruption, seizure and confiscation of corruption proceeds, non-conviction-based confiscation, the implementation of rules of conduct and systems for declarations of assets and interests in preventing corruption in public administration, the management of conflict of interest, anti-corruption awareness raising of public officials, integrity measures in public procurement processes, applicable prohibitions and limitations to carry out executive positions following corruption conviction, liability of legal persons and account offences. These issues of GRECO’s evaluation are very relevant in the context of the ongoing anti-corruption efforts in Kazakhstan.

All sessions resulted in very lively discussions between Kazakh authorities and the experts. During the exchanges, participants had the opportunity to present the planned or achieved progress, while the experts offered very targeted input on possible ways and considerations in implementing the GRECO recommendations for each topic.

This activity was organised by the Action “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Strasbourg, France 21 June 2023