The first meeting of the Coordination Council was held for the purpose of discussion of issues on implementation of the National Risk Assessment (NRA) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (PL / TMM) system, preparation for the 5th round assessment by the relevant expert committee of the Council of Europe (MONEYVAL) and other issues.
Ali Ahmadov, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan said that, the "National Action Plan for the Promotion of Open Government for 2020-2022", approved by the Decree of the President on February 27, 2020, was adopted within the framework of measures on expansion of the application of the principles of openness, transparency and accountability, increasing financial transparency, support for civil society institutions and strengthening of public control, as well as propagation of open government. He noted that according to Part 3 of the Action Plan, a Coordination Council consisting of officials from relevant government agencies and public associations has been established for the purpose of periodical operation of the National Risk Assessment on PL / TMM, the harmonization of national legislation with international PL / TMM standards, as well as coordination of preparation for the 5th round evaluation process planned by the Council of Europe's MONEYVAL Committee regarding Azerbaijan.
Then, Vice-Minister of Economy, Chairman of the Board of the Financial Monitoring Service Rovshan Najaf informed about the legal basis for the implementation of the NRA, the evaluation process on the PL / TMM system.
It was noted at the event that, various methodologies were used during the first NRA in 2014-2015, including the methodology provided by the World Bank. At the meeting there was proposed to make cooperation with the Council of Europe in the framework of the "Partnership for Good Governance" program to conduct strategic analysis and risk assessments in specific areas specified in the relevant Cabinet Resolution, and with the US Agency for International Development next year to assess PL / TM risks for non-governmental organizations. It was also proposed to establish relevant working groups for cooperation to evaluate the PL / TMM system. It was noted that in 2022, the Council of Europe's MONEYVAL Committee is expected to begin the 5th round of assessment of Azerbaijan's PL / TMM system. Thus, both the compliance of national legislation with the international standards on PL / TMM adopted by the Working Group on Financial Measures (FATF) and the effectiveness of the PL / TMM system will be assessed.
The event provided information on the mechanism of action of the proposed working groups to evaluate the PL / TMM system, and the questions from participants were answered.
The meeting was attended by a member of the Coordination Council, Vice-Minister of Justice Toghrul Musayev.
