Financial Crime World

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Armenia Takes Steps to Combat Financing of Terrorism, but More Effort Needed

Yerevan - In a bid to combat the financing of terrorism, Armenia has made significant strides in implementing the technical requirements set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.

Improvements Made

According to a recent evaluation, the country has shown improvements in several areas, including:

  • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach
  • Implementing laws and regulations to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Strengthening its financial intelligence unit and cooperation with international partners

The assessment, which was conducted as part of the FATF’s Mutual Evaluation Process, found that Armenia is largely compliant with 15 out of 40 recommendations.

Areas for Improvement

However, the evaluation also highlighted areas where Armenia needs to improve, including:

  • Regulation and supervision of financial institutions
  • Powers of supervisors
  • Legal framework for targeting terrorist financing and proliferation (remains partially compliant)
  • Transparency and beneficial ownership requirements for legal persons and arrangements

Armenia has faced challenges in implementing some of the FATF recommendations, particularly those related to non-profit organizations and correspondent banking.

Commitment to Improvement

Despite these challenges, Armenia is committed to continuing its efforts to combat the financing of terrorism and money laundering. The government has pledged to address the areas identified in the evaluation report and to work closely with international partners to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime.

FATF Recommendations

The FATF recommendations are a set of internationally recognized standards for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. The Mutual Evaluation Process is designed to assess countries’ compliance with these standards and provide guidance on how they can improve their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems.