Following the request of national authorities, the PGG Project on “Strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in Azerbaijan” organised an awareness-raising workshop for fifty representatives of non-profit organisations (NPOs), including non-governmental organisations and religious entities, as well as representatives of public authorities involved in the supervision of this sector. The event aimed to sharpen participants’ knowledge on money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the non-profit sector, and make them better understand, identify and mitigate such risks. The first day of the workshop was organised for representatives of non-governmental organisations and religious entities only, while representatives of supervisory and regulatory authorities also participated in the second day, together with the NPOs.

The Council of Europe expertise provided at the workshop helped enhance participants’ understanding of international requirements related to money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the NPO sector. It clarified potential threats of abuse for terrorism financing and other forms of illicit financial abuse of NPOs, as per current globally observed trends. The event allowed to emphasise the importance of having internal control systems in place, and of applying focused and proportionate measures, in line with the risk-based approach recommended by international standards, to mitigate such threats and vulnerabilities. Additionally, the workshop created an unprecedented forum for the government and NPOs to discuss challenges faced by the sector in relation to potential money laundering and terrorist financing risks and threats, as well as anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures. 

This outreach programme to and for civil society together with relevant public authorities was welcome by participants, both for the new knowledge acquired and the offered opportunity for dialogue. The information provided was complemented with concrete illustrations of observed typologies of illicit financing in the NPO sector. It also allowed to highlight the importance of reviewing the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to NPOs and continuously raise their awareness on procedures and policies adopted, to protect them from abuses for and vulnerabilities to money laundering and terrorism financing. 

This workshop was organised within the framework of the project “Strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in Azerbaijan”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.