Kyrgyzstan no longer subject of Eurasian Group monitoring list
Today the member states of the Eurasian Group on combating money-laundering and financing of terrorism (EAG) removed Kyrgyzstan from the Eurasian Group (EAG) monitoring list with the support of the OSCE project “Assistance to the Government of Kyrgyzstan in combating money-laundering and terrorist financing”.
This decision was made after the approval of the report done by the working group on Mutual Evaluations and Legal Affairs of the Eurasian Group, to which Kyrgyzstan was included in 2014.
The Eurasian Group on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism is a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body uniting Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Other 16 states and 17 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. Kyrgyzstan had been under the Eurasian Group monitoring as a result of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) decision, which was made due to the discrepancy of local legislation with FATF standards.
“I would like to congratulate Kyrgyzstan government on the removal from the EAG monitoring list. It is a significant achievement following the recent exit from the FATF “grey list”. We are proud to be part of this success and will continue to assist the government in strengthening its financial system”, said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.
The OSCE Centre in Bishkek is supporting Kyrgyzstan’s financial bodies to adopt modern investigative and countering methods, and implement legislation that addresses FATF recommendations. As a result of the Centre’s assistance, in July 2014, Kyrgyzstan was removed from the FATF’s ‘grey list’ and is no longer subject to the FATF’s monitoring process under its ongoing global process of compliance with requirements on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism.