During a seminar organised on 31 August 2022, Turkmen authorities were introduced to the Council of Europe Methodology for Sectoral Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment of Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs).
Representatives of the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan, Financial Monitoring Service (FIU) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Prosecutor’s Office, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, participated in the webinar. Participants gained knowledge about specific methodological instruments developed by the Council of Europe to assist beneficiaries in conducting risk assessments to counter money laundering and terrorism financing.
Turkmen representatives expressed their interest in learning more about hands-on experience in the application of the Methodology by other countries, and inquired about the possibility of further in-depth co-operation with the Council of Europe in the area of preventing and combating money laundering/terrorist financing (ML/TF) related to VAs and VASPs. The Action “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” of the Programme will further support the authorities by providing specific expertise and organising tailor-made activities according to authorities’ practical needs.
The representative of the European Union Delegation to Turkmenistan emphasized that implementation of the knowledge gained and transferred through this process will further contribute to promoting business integrity, fighting corruption and preventing the abuse of digital and virtual assets for money laundering/ terrorism financing.
The webinar was conducted within the framework of the Action “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” which focuses on strengthening authorities’ capacities in the region to fight and prevent economic crime and corruption, based on regional priorities, as well as priority areas of the countries concerned. The Action is implemented as part of 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.
