OSCE Project Co-ordinator helps Ukraine conduct its first national assessment of risks related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism

KYIV, 15 December 2016 – The results of Ukraine’s first-ever national money-laundering and financing of terrorism risk assessment, conducted with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, were presented today to the country’s expert community at an event in Kyiv.

Outlining the key systemic risks, the assessment was carried out with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator’s support in partnership with the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine.

It covers national regulatory bodies, law-enforcement agencies, private sector players and is based on best international practices and experiences. The assessment provides in-depth sector-specific analysis of the challenges in the national financial monitoring system and proposes recommendations for improvement.

“The national risk assessment identified objective risks in the national financial monitoring system, and problems which hinder our response to the threats of money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” said Igor Cherkaskyi, the Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator helped develop the research methodology for the assessment and supported its implementation.

“This is an important step towards improving financial monitoring system, dealing with its vulnerabilities to criminal acts,” said Vaidotas Verba, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “We are glad to be a part of this multi-stakeholder endeavour which brings Ukraine closer to the universally accepted standards.”

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body working in international responses to these types of crimes, requires that such assessments become institutionalized as an element of each country’s national financial monitoring system.

Based on this assessment Ukraine’s government is planning to develop an action plan to reduce money laundering risks next year, with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator ready to support this effort.