OSCE seminar in Turkmenistan promotes best practices of combating terrorism financing and money laundering

Best practices of the OSCE participating States in implementing the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards for targeted financial sanctions (TFS)for financing of terrorism and proliferation (FT/PF) were shared during an OSCE-organized seminar that took place on 2 and 3 October 2024 in Ashgabat.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the event to provide support to the host country in carrying out measures to address comments and findings of the Eurasian Group`s Mutual Evaluation Report of the national system of Turkmenistan on anti-money laundering (AML), combating financing of terrorism (CFT) and combating proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (CPF).

The two-day event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan (MFET), Financial Monitoring Service at MFET, law-enforcement bodies and financial institutions as well as other relevant entities.

“The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat has been actively co-operating with Turkmenistan on strengthening the national AML/CFT/CPF system, and addressing comments and findings of the EAG Mutual Evaluation Report,” said Olivera Zurovac-Kuzman, Economic and Environmental Officer of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

“Earlier this year, the Centre delivered a seminar on the identification of ultimate beneficial owners and a training course for students of relevant institutions of higher education, supported the elaboration of national legislation, and organized a study visit to Kazakhstan to facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices in the field of AML/CFT/CPF and anti-corruption,” added Zurovac-Kuzman.

During the seminar, an expert from the Eurasian Group presented FATF standards for targeted financial sanctions related to TF/PF. An expert from Uzbekistan focused on best national and international practices related to freezing measures and prohibitions.

“It is our belief that the seminar will facilitate the development of proposals to address the issues identified during the second round of EAG mutual evaluations with regard to the implementation of the requirements of the FATF Standards on Targeted Financial Sanctions, said Mirzosharif Sharipov, an EAG expert.

The seminar highlighted mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of the TFS regime and reflected on countering sanctions evasion. Participants exchanged their views on measures to improve Turkmenistan's legislation and practices for effective application of TFS.