Financial Crime World

Azerbaijan Urged to Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Improve Supervision, Says MONEYVAL

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has published a new report urging Azerbaijan authorities to strengthen measures to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and the financing of proliferation.

Compliance with FATF Standards

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of Azerbaijan’s level of compliance with standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). While the country has taken several actions to strengthen its legal and institutional framework since 2014, MONEYVAL notes that major improvements are needed to pursue investigations and prosecutions of money laundering effectively.

Key Findings and Recommendations

Law Enforcement Cooperation

  • Law enforcement authorities have access to financial intelligence and other information, but would benefit from increased domestic cooperation at an operational level.
  • Measures are required to ensure more consistency in investigations and prosecutions, as most prosecutions and convictions pertain to self-laundering.

Investigations and Prosecutions

  • Azerbaijan is urged to conduct systematically parallel financial investigations in all proceeds-generating crimes, including terrorist financing.
  • The country’s implementation of targeted financial sanctions was identified as a concern, particularly with regards to the private sector and supervision of compliance.

Supervision of Financial Institutions and Non-Financial Businesses

  • MONEYVAL has called on the authorities to strengthen enforcement and sanctioning powers for breaches of professional anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations.
  • The report recommends fundamental improvements in the supervision of financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions.

Prevention of Abuse

  • Azerbaijan is urged to apply preventive measures to combat the risk of Non-Profit Organisations being abused for terrorist financing purposes.
  • The country should take more proactive measures to ensure transparency, particularly with regards to legal persons.

Next Steps

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