Inter-regional training workshop on: Reducing the risks from the abuse of Money or Value Transfer Services (MVTS) under the AKT countries
22 to 25 November 2016, Beijing, China
Tackling illicit financial flows and money laundering is a core element of the overall effort to combat drug trafficking and transnational organised crime in Afghanistan, and more widely in West and Central Asia.
UNODC works on building networks between countries and between regions on investigations of financial crimes. In this regard, representatives from the Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan Initiative (AKT) - recently joined efforts for the first time with the representatives of China to share experiences and best practices on combating the abuse of the different money and value transfer systems. The meeting was held as part of UNODC's Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries (RPANC) funded by contributions from the EU.
The inter-regional training course, entitled "Reducing the risks from the abuse of Money or Value Transfer Services (MVTS), was convened in Beijing, China from 22-25 November 2016. Together with RPANC, the training course was organised by UNODC's Global Programme against Money Laundering, Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism (GPML) in partnership with the People's Bank of China. The training was tailored specifically for representatives from the AKT countries, as well as China.
The event was attended by experts on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism from law enforcement agencies, Financial Intelligence units, prosecuting authorities, customs agencies, central banks and Ministries of Foreign Affairs. During the four day event, participants received training and discussed issues including: the importance of MVTS as related to migrant remittances and fragile economies; the abuse of MVTS by transnational organised crime, terrorist networks and corrupt officials; sensitive investigation techniques; forensics strategies and evidence handling; and the challenges of prosecuting crimes across different legal systems.
Specific threats faced by individual countries were also identified, shared and discussed including heroin trafficking, abuse of Non Profit Organisations, financing of advanced improvised explosive device networks and terrorist financing flows from donors in specific countries in the Middle East to fund the travel of foreign terrorist fighters in Syria and Iraq. In the margins of the event, meetings were held which identified willingness to sign MOUs on information sharing and practical steps were taken to agree on encryption standards to secure the exchange of operational information.
UNODC thanks the European Union for funding the event.