Targeted financial sanctions is a key tool to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism and proliferation. Azerbaijan has enhanced their efforts in this area, by adopting a new law on targeted financial sanctions and developing guidelines for its effective implementation. In view of supporting national efforts to successfully address terrorism threats and improve enforcement against terrorism financing and proliferation financing, a two-day training was organised for representatives of law enforcement agencies and judiciary, as well as financial intelligence and central bank practitioners. 

The training shared good practices for implementation of targeted financial sanctions requirements related to terrorism and financing of weapons of mass destruction. It also allowed to focus on a number of important aspects which included the investigation of proliferation financing and related red flag indicators, establishment of a domestic sanction list, as well as procedures for listing – how to include individuals and entities in international sanctions list, namely in the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions list. 

The workshop also examined effective national coordination mechanisms and interagency cooperation with a domestic focus on tackling the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Furthermore, it provided an open forum for discussion of challenges to supervision and monitoring of enforcement of international sanctions concerning the financing of terrorism and proliferation.

The practical exercise, driven from a real case allowed the delegates to explore different investigation techniques, examine cooperation and coordination mechanisms among relevant domestic and international institutional actors, and decide on necessary set of actions for seizure, freezing and confiscation of assets.  

The other practical exercise addressed the core elements of effective supervision of implementation of targeted financial sanctions. It also aimed to discuss the role of the private sector in implementing appropriate mitigating measures to combat proliferation financing and evasion of targeted financial sanctions.
The training was tailored to respond to the needs of national authorities to successfully implement targeted financial sanctions requirements by preventing and combating criminals’ abuse of the international financial system for illicit purposes.

This event is part of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the project on “Preventing and fighting economic crime in Azerbaijan”.