Agreement envisages to create an international risk assessment center for legalization of proceeds of crime and financing of terrorism

On November 6, the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs debated the draft law on Ratifying the Agreement on Creating an International Center for the Risk Assessment of Criminal Proceeds (Laundering) and Terrorist Financing.

As the RA Deputy Chair of the Central Bank Hovhannes Khachatryan informed, the purpose of the Agreement signed in Bishkek on October 13, 2023 is to promote cooperation between CIS member states in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF), providing transnational assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, improving the level of efficiency of information cooperation between financial intelligence agencies (FIAs).

The Agreement envisages the creation of an international risk assessment center for the legalization (laundering) of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism. The main tasks of the center are the transnational assessment of ML/TA risks, the creation of a unified information base necessary for the identification and assessment of ML/AF risks, the development and implementation of unified standards for electronic cooperation between FIAs, ensuring the security of information exchange during international cooperation.

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed the Agreement.

The draft law was endorsed by the Committee.

The Committee also debated the report on the works done in the third quarter of 2024 of the NA Budget Office.

The Expert of the Budget Office Karine Badalyan informed that during the reporting period 8 inquiries were received from the NA Standing Committees, on the basis of which 285 certificates were prepared for providing as a support to the NA Vice Presidents, the Standing Committees, the factions and to the deputies. The rapporteur noted that during nine months, in general, 564 certificates were prepared.

It was noted that the experts of the NA Budget Office participated in different courses, presented proposals on the draft decision of the RA Government on Establishing the Order of the Budget Programme Assessment and took part in the preparatory works of the RA draft laws.

The report was taken into consideration.