ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE
Effective mechanisms to prevent and combat money laundering were the focus of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)-organized workshop that took place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in November 2013.
The workshop brought together officials from the Finance Ministry’s Finance Intelligence Unit, the Economy and Development Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the State Tax Service, law-enforcement agencies and banks, as well as experts from Poland, Serbia and the OSCE Secretariat.
“Money laundering poses a threat to the functioning of the economy, as well as to national and international security,” said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, head of the OSCE center in Ashgabat. “Anti-money-laundering measures are playing an essential role in promoting economic development, private businesses and the rule of law. The efforts of states to combat money laundering should become part of their economic reform measures, and the OSCE stands ready to assist its participating states in developing effective anti-money-laundering mechanisms.”
Workshop participants discussed national risk assessment and activities to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism in Turkmenistan.
The workshop was a continuation of a previous workshop on anti-corruption mechanisms held in April 2013 and is part of the center’s project on reinforcing good governance principles in the country. Other 2013 activities under the project included a study tour to Serbia for officials from Turkmenistan to discuss anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering practices with Serbian counterparts.