In cooperation with the Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia, a two-day training on “Anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance” was organised specifically designed for the insurance sector.
The training was part of a series of activities to support the effective and efficient compliance by the private sector with AML/CFT requirements, and was built on the sequence of activities specifically designed for financial institutions, and particularly focused on strengthening the understanding and application of measures with regard to Politically Exposed Persons, identification and verification of beneficial ownership and the most comment shortcomings and challenges for the sector identified by the supervisor. The training was also informed by the National Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Risk Assessment of Georgia (2019) which details the money laundering and terrorism financing risks to which insurance companies are exposed. The Financial Monitoring Service (Georgian Financial Intelligence Unit) acquainted the participants with the relevant findings of the national risk assessment and the MONEYVAL 5th Round mutual evaluation report of Georgia as well as provided an overview of the requirements of the AML/CFT legislation.
Training participants learnt about the applicable international AML/CFT standards and their relevance for areas like the growing health insurance sector in Georgia. Through reviewing best practices and real cases observed in Georgia, the discussions allowed for an in-depth exchange on the sector-specific risk-based approach and how it can be updated to face current or emerging AML/CFT risks. During the discussion the Council of Europe expert highlighted the importance for insurance companies to dedicate AML/CFT resources and effective AML/CFT internal policies. Participants discussed the challenges related to the implementation of customer due diligence, identification of beneficial owners, and the how-to for cooperation between reporting entities, supervisors and the Financial Monitoring Service.
This capacity-building activity contributed to the efforts by Georgian authorities’ in implementing MONEYVAL recommendations and enabling the insurance sector to mitigate the major ML/FT risks based on a sound understanding of their nature and effective use of resources.
The activity was 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.
