On 29 March 2022, an awareness raising activity on the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (Warsaw Convention CETS No.198) was conducted for the authorities of Tajikistan.
The webinar aimed at raising awareness on the Warsaw Convention, its accession procedure and monitoring mechanism. The activity brought together the authorities of Tajikistan involved in anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism activities, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Department of Financial Monitoring under the National Bank, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Committee for Investments and State Property Management.
Participants improved their understanding on the aim and benefits of the Warsaw Convention and learned about examples from other countries in respect of the accession procedure. The webinar’s discussions addressed the following topics:
- international good practices on the implementation of the Council of Europe Conventions and monitoring mechanisms in the area of laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime.
- Relevant steps and procedures for joining the Council of Europe Conventions by non-member states and related monitoring mechanisms.
- Country examples from Central Asia in relation to the accession process.
- Discussions regarding the national framework of Tajikistan related to the anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism system.
It is planned to provide further assistance to the authorities of Tajikistan in the field of improving the national anti-corruption and anti-money laundering and countering financing systems as well as the framework to enhance business integrity and compliance in the private sector.
This activity was organised in the framework of the action “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” within the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, which is a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The action is aimed at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.