Uzbekistan Takes Steps to Prevent Financial Crimes, According to FATF Report

Tashkent, Uzbekistan - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its Mutual Evaluation report for Uzbekistan, assessing the country’s efforts to prevent and combat financial crimes.

Significant Progress Made

The report evaluates Uzbekistan’s implementation of the FATF Recommendations, which cover a range of measures to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. According to the assessment, Uzbekistan has made substantial efforts to implement many of these measures, with 20 out of 40 recommendations deemed “largely compliant” or “partially compliant.”

Areas of Strength

• Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1), with the country’s financial intelligence unit (FIU) playing a key role in identifying and monitoring suspicious transactions.
• Cooperation and coordination with other countries on issues related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.2).

Areas for Improvement

• Implementing effective targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6).
• Strengthening customer due diligence measures (R.10).
• Enhancing regulation and supervision of non-profit organizations (R.8) and DNFBPs (R.22).

Commitment to Improvement

Despite these challenges, the report acknowledged Uzbekistan’s commitment to improving its anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing regime. The country has taken steps to:

• Strengthen its financial intelligence unit.
• Improve cooperation with other countries.
• Enhance regulation and supervision of financial institutions.

Roadmap for Improvement

The FATF report provides a roadmap for Uzbekistan to address its shortcomings and further improve its financial crime prevention measures. With continued efforts, the country is expected to make significant progress in this area, enhancing its reputation as a stable and secure financial hub in Central Asia.