Financial Crime World

Kyrgyzstan’s Financial Crime Enforcement Agencies Face Mixed Ratings in Latest FATF Review

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its latest Mutual Evaluation report on Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to combat financial crime. While the country has made significant strides in implementing international standards, there are areas where it falls short.

Key Findings

The report assesses Kyrgyzstan’s compliance with 40 key recommendations aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The results show that while the country has demonstrated a commitment to fighting financial crime, there is room for improvement in several critical areas.

Areas of Concern

  • Assessing risk & applying a risk-based approach: Kyrgyzstan is considered “partially compliant” (PC) in this area, indicating that it has some issues with identifying and mitigating high-risk transactions.
  • National cooperation and coordination: The country is also deemed “partially compliant” (PC), suggesting that its law enforcement agencies may not always be working together effectively to combat financial crime.

Progress Made

On the other hand, Kyrgyzstan has made significant progress in several areas:

  • Money laundering offence: Kyrgyzstan is considered “largely compliant” (LC) in this area, indicating that it has a relatively effective money laundering offense framework in place.
  • Confiscation and provisional measures: The country is rated as “largely compliant” (LC), showing that it has made significant progress in implementing confiscation and provisional measures to combat financial crime.

Recommendations for Improvement

The FATF report provides several recommendations for Kyrgyzstan to enhance its anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing regime, including:

Strengthening Regulatory Frameworks

  • Enhancing customer due diligence procedures
  • Improving the regulation and supervision of financial institutions
  • Strengthening the powers of supervisors

Enhancing International Cooperation

  • Enhancing international cooperation and mutual legal assistance