Tajikistan’s national system of prevention and counteraction to legalization (laundering) of the proceeds from crime or terrorism financing, as well as financing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is ready for evaluation by international experts, according to the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) press center.

This was reportedly noted at a meeting of the Interagency Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing that took place here on February 21.

The meeting focused on issues related to preparations for the second round of mutual evaluation of Tajikistan’s national system countering laundering of the proceeds from crime or terrorism financing, as well as WMD proliferation financing and the upcoming visit of experts from the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) scheduled on March 5-15 this year.

The Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) is a FATF-style regional body uniting Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

15 more states and 19 international and regional organizations have observer status within the EAG.

The EAG supports countries in the region to create an appropriate legal and institutional framework combating money laundering and terrorist financing in line with FATF standards.

As part of these efforts, the EAG mutually evaluates the national anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems of its member states for compliance with international standards, analyzes money laundering and terrorist financing typologies taking into account the specifics of the Eurasian region, and implements technical assistance programs for Group member states, including staff training.

The EAG aims to create the conditions of effective interaction and cooperation at the Eurasian level, as well as integration of EAG member states into the international AML/CFT system.