The second Steering Committee meeting of the project “Preventing and fighting economic crime in Azerbaijan” took place on 7 December 2023. The project is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe’s Partnership for Good Governance programme.

The meeting endeavoured to present and discuss the progress in implementation of activities to date, and the list of planned activities until the end of the project. Representatives of national partner institutions described how the support received from the project benefited their efforts in the areas of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

Some of the practical advice provided by the project on national policy reforms for the assessment and management of corruption risks in state institutions is already being taken forward by the concerned authorities through enhancing internal practices. Another example regards capacity-development sessions on the implementation of targeted financial sanctions which featured, among others, the core procedures for listing individuals and entities in international sanctions list. Partners underlined as highly beneficial the sharing of practical knowledge facilitated by the project in this area, which helped national authorities initiate the process for inclusion of national designated persons in the United Nations’ Security Council’s sanctions list.

The Steering Committee also allowed the beneficiary institutions to highlight their current needs and future priorities, including in policy reforms as well as capacity building. 

The meeting offered the opportunity to continue the active dialogue with national partners, to better tailor planned activities to their needs and expectations as well as contribute jointly towards improving the national regime for anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. Furthermore, national authorities highlighted the need for project support in the implementation of pending recommendations for improvement of effectiveness against money laundering and terrorist financing, following the fifth-round evaluation of Azerbaijan by the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL).

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”.