Azernews.Az

US ambassador in Baku Anne Derse has said Azerbaijan`s new draft anti-money laundering and terrorism financing law pending before the Milli Majlis (parliament) does not fully meet international standards.
"Unfortunately, in its present form, this draft still does not contain all the elements necessary to make it a stand-alone comprehensive Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing law," Derse told Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Seminar on Tuesday. "It still requires some revision to bring it into a reasonable level of compliance with international standards, particularly in three areas: suspicious transaction reporting; cross-border currency reporting; and financial institution and business` obligations to enforce the reporting laws."
At the same time, the ambassador hailed the endeavors to pass the law. "I applaud your efforts to pass this law and in connection therewith to establish a financial intelligence unit that meets the highest international standards."
She said the US government appreciates "all the hard work and effort that has gone into the drafting of this law" by members of the Commission on Combating Corruption.
Many of the recommendations suggested by the Council of Europe and US experts were incorporated into the draft law, which has passed the first hearing in the legislature.
Derse said that through its membership in CE`s Moneyval group, Azerbaijan is an associate member of the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering (FATF).
"Nevertheless, it is a vulnerable country. Although the act of money laundering is indeed a crime in Azerbaijan, the FATF required legal and financial regime that is necessary for prosecutors to properly do their job is not in effect," she said, adding that the new law is aimed to cure that deficiency.
Twenty years ago the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) established the FATF to establish international standards to be implemented in the fight against money laundering.
Member of the anti-corruption commission, MP Ali Huseynov, said the draft law would be adopted at the second and third hearings during the parliament`s fall session.
The CE Secretary General`s representative in Azerbaijan, Veronika Kotek, said adopting such a law was crucial for a country that has chosen a path of democratic development.
"Combat against corruption will give a further incentive to democratization in society," she said.
The seminar was held by the US Department of Justice and the Council of Europe with the support of the Azerbaijani government and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of the Project to Support the Anti-corruption Strategy of Azerbaijan (AZPAC). The event was designed to increase citizen and government awareness of how money laundering and terrorism financing will be tackled and how current legislation needs to be implemented.