On 27 July 2021, a webinar on improving the legal framework on conflict of interest was organised for the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The event was attended by the representatives of the Agency in Nur-Sultan and its 14 regional offices.

The webinar aimed at familiarizing the participants with the Council of Europe and other international standards on conflict of interest prevention and resolution as well as presenting the results of the review of the legislative and institutional framework of Kazakhstan including draft amendments and recommendations for improvement of conflict of interest prevention and resolution. In the course of the webinar, the participants discussed the identified challenges and key recommendations concerning the need to issue special guidelines on conflict of interest, considered the adoption of a single law where all anti-corruption elements and measures would be defined. Particular attention was paid to the refining the definition of ‘conflict of interest’, ‘related persons’, narrowing the definition of persons who are obliged to respect provisions on conflict of interest as well as considering introducing mandatory declaration of interests and concrete sanctions.

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.