Financial Crime World

Azerbaijan Needs to Strengthen Measures to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

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The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has called on Azerbaijani authorities to take further steps to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According to a recent report, while Azerbaijan has made progress in strengthening its legal and institutional framework to tackle these issues since 2014, major improvements are still needed.

Progress Made by Azerbaijan

  • Azerbaijan has achieved significant success in investigating and prosecuting terrorist financing cases, with seven convictions secured during the reference period.
  • The country’s law enforcement authorities need to improve their cooperation at an operational level and ensure consistency in investigations and prosecutions.

Recommendations for Improvement

Confiscation of Criminal Proceeds

  • Azerbaijan’s confiscation of criminal proceeds is a commendable policy objective, but more needs to be done to trace assets by conducting parallel financial investigations in all proceeds-generating crimes.
  • Concerns have been raised about the implementation of targeted financial sanctions by the private sector and the adequacy of supervision of compliance.

Preventive Measures

  • MONEYVAL calls on Azerbaijan to apply preventive measures to mitigate the risk of Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) being abused for terrorist financing purposes.
  • Fundamental improvements are needed in the supervision of financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions.

Next Steps

Azerbaijan will report back to MONEYVAL on progress achieved in improving its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures by December 2025.

About MONEYVAL

The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with assessing compliance with international standards to counter money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. MONEYVAL evaluates 33 States and territories and makes recommendations to national authorities for necessary improvements.