Exchange of best practices between anti-corruption authorities of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Council of Europe member states

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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Back Exchange of best practices between anti-corruption authorities of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Council of Europe member states

Representatives of anti-corruption authorities of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan met with their counterparts from nine anti-corruption bodies from Council of Europe member states (Croatia, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Malta, and the United Kingdom), in the framework of an exchange visit held in Strasbourg and Paris on 2-5 April 2024. Through presentations and discussions during their visit in the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, they became more familiar with the Council of Europe’s system, standards, and instruments in the fight against economic crime and corruption, including Council of Europe’s Criminal and Civil Law conventions and its anti-corruption monitoring body - the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). The participants of both delegations also had an opportunity to exchange in Paris (France) with representatives of the High Authority for transparency in public life (HATVP) and the French anti-corruption Agency (AFA).

They are now more aware of experiences of others in strategic management of anti-corruption, international cooperation against corruption, integrity in the public sector, management of conflicts of interest and protection of whistleblowers. The visit also helped the participants to establish informal networks among themselves to improve cooperation and coordination in the future.

This activity was organised by the Action on “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” in the framework of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2024, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter. The Action is aimed at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).

STRASBOURG; PARIS, France 2-5 APRIL 2024