On March 29, the OSCE Center in Ashgabat held an online seminar on the role of non-profit organizations (NPOs) in combating money laundering and terrorist financing in Turkmenistan, according to the organization's website.
The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan and the Financial Monitoring Service, the Ministry of Justice, the Bar Association, licensees providing legal assistance, as well as employees of NGOs. The workshop was conducted by an expert from Lithuania.
“Problems of governance, such as corruption and money laundering, deprive states of their ability to effectively deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development and undermine social cohesion, stability and security,” said Ivana Markovich-Boskovic , Head of the Economic and Environmental Unit at the OSCE Center in Ashgabat .
The seminar took place before the start of the process of mutual evaluation of the Eurasian Group (EAG) on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
The EAG was established in 2004. It includes nine states: Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Group's activities are aimed at reducing the threat of international terrorism and ensuring the transparency, reliability and security of the financial systems of states and their further integration into the international infrastructure for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The upcoming visit of the EAG representatives to Turkmenistan to assess the national system of the country was reported back in February 2020. At that time, it was planned that the visit would take place in September of the same year. However, in the spring, Turkmenistan began to introduce coronavirus restrictions, including border closures.
After that, the OSCE held a seminar in Ashgabat on “National preparation for the mutual evaluation of the Eurasian Group (EAG): best practices of the OSCE states”.
It should be noted that since at least 2013 the OSCE has been holding seminars for Turkmen officials on money laundering and terrorist financing.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan