OSCE Office in Baku trains future judges on combating money laundering and terrorism financing

BAKU, 1 October 2012 – A training course held by the OSCE Office in Baku with the Judicial Legal Council for future judges on countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism started today.

The course aims to familiarize local judges with the best practices, international legal framework and national case law of other OSCE participating States on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

“Financial stability and economic prosperity are inseparable parts of the OSCE’s comprehensive definition of security,” said Emmanuel Huntzinger, the Head of the Economic and Environmental Unit at the OSCE Office in Baku. “By conducting this training, we seek to support the government in strengthening financial control mechanisms and implementing international AML/CFT standards.”

Since 2009, Azerbaijan has taken measures to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism, including adopting legislation on AML/CFT, amending relevant legal provisions and establishing the Financial Monitoring Service (FMS) at the Central Bank. In July 2011, the FMS became a member of the Egmont Group, which provides a global forum for financial intelligence units to develop co-operation in the AML/CFT field and to foster the implementation of domestic programmes.

The OSCE Office in Baku has been supporting Azerbaijan government’s efforts in AML/CFT from the onset, and is closely co-operating with the FMS. The Office has supported the implementation of state policy on AML/CFT and state supervision of suspicious transactions, and helped strengthen the capacities of key actors.