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Uzbekistan Falls Short on Compliance with International Banking Regulations, Report Reveals

Tashkent, Uzbekistan - A recent report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has highlighted several areas of concern regarding Uzbekistan’s compliance with international regulations aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing in the country’s banking sector.

Report Highlights Concerns

• The report, known as a Mutual Evaluation, assesses countries’ implementation of FATF’s 40 Recommendations for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
• According to the evaluation, Uzbekistan has made some progress in implementing these measures, but still falls short in several key areas.

Key Concerns

Lack of Effective Risk Assessment and Risk-Based Approach

• The report highlights that Uzbekistan lacks an effective risk assessment and risk-based approach to identify and mitigate threats to the financial system.
• This makes it difficult to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

Inadequate National Cooperation and Coordination Mechanisms

• The country’s national cooperation and coordination mechanisms for combating money laundering and terrorist financing were found to be inadequate.
• This hinders the effective implementation of measures to prevent illicit activities.

Weaknesses in Laws and Regulations

Insufficient Laws and Regulations Related to Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Confiscation of Assets

• The report highlights weaknesses in Uzbekistan’s laws and regulations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and confiscation of assets.
• These weaknesses make it difficult to prevent illicit activities.

Financial Institution Secrecy Laws and Customer Due Diligence Requirements

• The country’s financial institution secrecy laws and customer due diligence requirements were deemed insufficient to prevent illicit activities.
• This allows for the potential misuse of financial institutions by criminals.

Other Areas of Concern

Lack of Effective Supervision and Regulation of Non-Profit Organizations

• Uzbekistan was criticized for its lack of effective supervision and regulation of non-profit organizations.
• This makes it difficult to prevent these organizations from being used for illicit activities.

Limited Use of Targeted Financial Sanctions

• The country’s limited use of targeted financial sanctions to combat terrorism and proliferation is also a concern.
• This hinders the ability to effectively disrupt terrorist financing networks.

Positive Developments

Progress in Implementing Transparency and Beneficial Ownership Requirements

• The report commended Uzbekistan for making significant progress in implementing measures to improve transparency and beneficial ownership requirements for legal persons and arrangements.
• This will help prevent the misuse of companies and other legal structures by criminals.

Effective Financial Intelligence Unit

• The country’s financial intelligence unit was found to be functioning effectively.
• This enables the timely identification and disruption of illicit activities.

Conclusion

• Despite some positive developments, Uzbekistan still has much work to do to meet international standards.
• The report emphasizes the need for the country to address its deficiencies in order to strengthen its financial system and prevent illicit activities.

Government Response

• The Uzbek government has pledged to take steps to address the concerns raised by the report and to implement further reforms to improve its compliance with international regulations.