In co-operation with the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision of Georgia (SARAS), two online trainings on “Anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance” on 27 and 29 April 2022.
The trainings contributed to the efforts by Georgian authorities in implementing MONEYVAL recommendations on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism.
A total of 160 accountants and auditors improved their knowledge in the field through these trainings, by identifying actionable approaches to mitigate professional challenges encountered. The trainings were designed for the needs of auditors and accountants and are part of a series of activities aiming to support the effective and efficient compliance of non-financial institutions with AML/CFT requirements.
Participants to the trainings discussed the applicable international AML/CFT standards with a focus on the sector-specific obligations. Particular topics of the exchanges between practitioners and the Council of Europe experts included:
- the how-to of a Risk Based Approach (RBA) and Customer Due Diligence;
- the role of auditors/accountants in establishing and advising companies;
- the methods available for the identification of suspicious transactions;
- and the relevance for co-operation between the supervising authority, the Financial Monitoring Service (FIU) and the reporting entities, and how to make that co-operation operative.
The recommendations for auditors and accountants included in the MONEYVAL 5th Round Evaluation Report of Georgia 2020, as well as by the National Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Risk Assessment of Georgia (2019) were part of the trainings, as they detail the money laundering and terrorism financing risks to which auditors and accountants are exposed to. Both framing documents were presented by a representative of the Georgian FIU, who took the opportunity to also clarify and discuss with participants the AML/CFT legal framework.
These trainings were organised in the framework of the project “Enhancing the Systems of Prevention and Combating Corruption, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Georgia,” funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II 2019-2022.
