Financial Crime World

UNODC Kicks Off Project to Boost Financial Crime Investigations in Tajikistan Amid COVID-19

In the face of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) initiated the first working meeting on September 11, 2020, with Tajikistani partners to discuss technical assistance for enhancing parallel financial investigations’ efficiency.

Background

Last year, UNODC held a planning meeting with Tajikistani counterparts to discuss the delivery of expert assistance in implementing reports from international money laundering and terrorism financing experts under the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG). UNODC offered its support to Tajikistan by boosting the effectiveness of parallel financial investigations led by law enforcement authorities.

Objectives and Partners

The primary objectives of the project aim to:

  • Strengthen Tajikistan’s system in countering money laundering and terrorism financing
  • Implement UN Conventions and FATF recommendations

Key project partners include:

  • General Prosecutor’s Office
  • Department of Financial Monitoring under the National Bank of Tajikistan

Participating organizations were heads and experts from:

  • State Committee of National Security
  • Anti-Corruption Agency
  • Drug Enforcement Agency
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs
  • Department of Financial Monitoring under the National Bank of Tajikistan

Meeting Overview

Though the meeting took place online due to the global health crisis, it was a great success.

Welcome and Success Stories

UNODC GPML Advisor Oliver Gadney shared success stories on parallel financial investigations that emphasized the importance of inter-agency cooperation and shared financial information for effective probes.

Tajikistani Appreciation

Tajikistani representative of the General Prosecutor’s Office, Yusuf Ruziev, expressed appreciation for the UNODC-organized workshop and emphasized recent approvals of the EAG evaluation report and Tajikistan’s Prime Minister’s plan to eliminate technical compliance deficiencies and enhance the AML/CFT system’s effectiveness.

Working Together

The General Prosecutor’s Office and other agencies intend to create a centralized procedure for conducting parallel financial investigations. Farhod Bilolov, the Director of the Financial Monitoring Department under the National Bank of Tajikistan, expressed interest in cooperating with UNODC to establish a methodology for parallel financial investigations.

UNODC’s Role

Aliaksandr Vadziany, UNODC Regional Advisor on AML/CFT, highlighted UNODC’s ongoing assistance in bolstering Tajikistan’s AML/CFT partners’ capacity, with the goals to heighten understanding and coordination in financial probes, leading to more successful law enforcement and financial intelligence units.

Desire for Collaboration and Working Group

The partners expressed their desire to collaborate within the project, outlined next steps, and in turn, established a working group.

Collaboration and Funding

This joint initiative falls under the UNODC Central Asia Program with collaboration from the Global Program Against Money Laundering and support from the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Kazakhstan.

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries, please contact: Shakhnoza Zafari, UNODC Communication and External Relations Officer, at shakhnoza.zafari@un.org.