The Council of Europe and the European Union continue to facilitate the enhancement of national systems of Central Asian countries in the area of fighting and preventing economic crime and corruption. During the two-day regional hybrid conference on 9-10 December 2021, the law enforcement authorities of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan discussed topics aimed at improving the regulatory and procedural frameworks on financial investigations in Central Asia. The conference concluded today in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The event was organised under the action “Promoting transparency and action against economic crime” which is part of a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union, Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023.
The Council of Europe experts and representatives of state authorities and law enforcement institutions of the participating countries exchanged views on financial investigation practices in the region and identified common challenges in relation to money laundering and interagency co-operation.
The experts of the Council of Europe presented the results of their analysis of legislative and institutional frameworks of Central Asian countries and provided recommendations on their improvement in accordance with international standards and good practices. In particular, the proposals concern the necessity to further regulate protection of whistleblowers, setting specialist asset management agency and a database for seized/frozen/confiscated assets, establishing shared investigation/intelligence databases and a corruption hotline as well as introducing a postponed confiscation after conviction, account monitoring orders and non-conviction-based asset forfeiture. Further discussions of the findings with the national authorities allowed to identify current needs of each country which will serve as a basis for the preparation of a manual for financial investigations and a regional training session for officials of the Central Asian countries.
Edmond DUNGA, Head of Unit, Economic Crime and Cooperation Division of the Council of Europe, confirmed that the Council of Europe stands ready to continue to accompany the authorities of Central Asian countries in improving national legal and procedural frameworks for financial investigations and increasing their capacities by providing technical expertise, legal analysis, recommendations and training.
For more information, please contact:
Tatiana BAEVA, Spokesperson / Media Officer, Directorate of Communications, Council of Europe.
Alla DUBANOVA, Project manager, Central Asia Rule of Law Programme, Promoting transparency and action against economic crime, Economic Crime and Cooperation Division, Council of Europe.
Mariia POLEZHAEVA, Communication Support Assistant, Central Asia Rule of Law Programme, Council of Europe.
Background:
The Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023 aims to reinforce human rights, rule of law and democracy in Central Asian countries in accordance with European and other international standards by offering assistance to reform processes, based on a demand-driven approach. The Programme includes three main areas of intervention:
- Facilitating the creation of a common legal space between Europe and Central Asia and enhancing human rights protection
- Promoting transparency and action against economic crime;
- Promoting efficient functioning of state institutions and public administration.
For more information on the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme.
The action “Promoting transparency and action against economic crime” aims to contribute to improving the conditions for businesses and to enhancing the quality of anti-corruption systems in five Central Asian countries. The project comprises two components: i) business integrity and compliance as well as ii) anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and asset recovery systems.
