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Azerbaijan determines new list of countries beyond cooperation

Business Materials 7 September 2010 18:45 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, September 7 / Trend N. Ismayilova /

The Financial Monitoring Service under the Central Bank of Azerbaijan has approved a new list of countries, the identification data which do not require disclosure while conducting financial transactions, the countries which may participate in the financing of terrorism, illicit trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic drugs, maintaining transnational organized crime including armed separatism, extremism, the Service said.

A list of countries is approved with the Cabinet of Ministers, the Foreign Ministry and prepared and approved by the Financial Monitoring Service. The current changes have been made in the list approved March 2, 2010. The number of countries was reduced from 46 to 33.

A number of countries that were previously approved in the list, complied with the obligations set by FATF and other international organizations. The activities in this field contributed to their removal from the list.

According to the current legislation, the subjects of monitoring must identify the purpose and nature of illegal operations with cash and other property transactions with countries included in the list, and immediately inform the Financial Monitoring Service about the transactions with these countries. The new version of the list has been already submitted to the subjects of monitoring and the relevant bodies.

Belize, Bolivia, Armenia, Afghanistan, Philippines, Iran, Iraq, Colombia, Congo, Korean Democratic People's Republic, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Laos Liberia, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nauru Island, Niue, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the islands of Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vietnam are among 33 countries in the new list.

Azerbaijan became the first country in the world in 2003 which was evaluated according to Moneyval new requirements. They represent a set of individual assessments of compliance for each FATF standard on the basis of "40 + 8" (40 Standards to counter money laundering and the 8 - to counter the financing of terrorism). However, each standard has a few paragraphs, including about 180 sub-items. Azerbaijan largely complies with FATF and evaluation, which was given to the country by Moneyval was higher than the assessment conducted under the interagency expert group.

Azerbaijan was assigned to the category of countries based on an assessment, mostly corresponding to the FATF updated standards. Since that time, they were supplemented by the new standard on combating terrorist financing. The second evaluation was conducted in 2008. It was also described as constructive.

The CE expert group on money laundering Mo­ney­val decided to eliminate the special regime of monitoring, applied by Mo­ney­val to Azerbaijan since 2006, and the transition to the normal assessment procedure, which is held in respect of other countries, within XXXI plenary meeting December 11, 2009.

The decision was made in connection with the achievements of Azerbaijan to develop and apply legislation in the field of combating the legalization of criminally gained money and property and terrorist financing, as well as the opening of the Financial Monitoring Service at the Central Bank.

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