Kyrgyzstan Fails to Meet International Standards in Combating Financial Crime

Recent Evaluation Reveals Country’s Lagging Progress

A recent evaluation by the international community has revealed that Kyrgyzstan is lagging behind in implementing effective measures to prevent and combat financial crime. The country’s ratings on 40 key recommendations related to anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) have shown a mixed picture, with some areas needing significant improvement.

Key Areas Requiring Improvement

• Establishment of a money laundering offence: Kyrgyzstan scored low in this area.
• Confiscation and provisional measures: The country needs to improve its laws and regulations in this area.
• Regulation and supervision of financial institutions: Kyrgyzstan’s rating was found to be inadequate.

Non-Compliance Areas

• National cooperation and coordination: Kyrgyzstan failed to meet international standards in this area.
• Customer due diligence: The country needs to strengthen its customer due diligence procedures.
• Record keeping: Kyrgyzstan’s record-keeping practices were found to be non-compliant.

Areas of Improvement

• Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing: Kyrgyzstan showed some improvement in this area, but more work is needed.
• International cooperation: The country needs to strengthen its cooperation with other countries in areas such as mutual legal assistance, extradition, and information exchange.

Call for Action

Kyrgyzstan’s President has pledged to take immediate action to address the issues raised in the report and to implement the necessary reforms to bring the country into compliance with international standards. However, experts say that significant resources will be required to achieve this goal, and that it may take several years for Kyrgyzstan to fully meet its obligations.

Resources

The full report can be found at [insert link].