Training Programme on Countering the Financing of Terrorism is Launched in Uzbekistan

23-25 October 2019, Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Terrorists regularly change their fundraising strategies, and ways they move the funds. Therefore, identifying, assessing and understanding terrorist financing risk is an essential part of dismantling and disrupting terrorist networks.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Office for Central Asia (UNODC ROCA) jointly with the UN the UN Global Programme Against Money Laundering, Proceeds of Crime and the Financing of Terrorism (GPML) in co-operation with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), launched the UNODC-OSCE Training Programme on Countering the Financing of Terrorism for the Republic of Uzbekistan. Some 24 specialists from the General Prosecutors Office, the Academy of the General Prosecutor's Office, State Security Service, and Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan  took part in the foundation course of the training programme.

"Financing of terrorism is a criminal business model that has its own financial flows. It generates significant criminal proceeds that are subsequently used for terrorist purposes. Government agencies should be able to detect and disrupt illicit financial flows connected with terrorists and terrorist organizations.

One of the UNODC ROCAs' primary objectives is to increase capacity of the national law enforcement, financial intelligence units (FIU) and financial institutions to detect and combat terrorism financing, disrupt terrorist networks and recover the proceeds of crime." - noted Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative, opening the training.

"The Republic of Uzbekistan is interested in ensuring strengthening of the capacities of the FIU and relevant authorities on countering the financing of terrorism issues." - quote by Mr. Zokhid Khatamov, Deputy Head of the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

"Uzbekistan's experts on countering the financing of terrorism will focus on learning new techniques to detect, investigate and disrupt terrorist networks by investigating the money flow. This programme is also about developing as One Team - each of the agencies here have unique capabilities, but we have seen elsewhere that only together can you work effectively." - highlighted Mr. Aliaksandr Vadziany, UNODC Adviser counter-narcotics, anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism.

During the course, participants studied national, regional and international terrorist threats, learnt about the terrorist funding cycle and the financial requirements of individual terrorists and small cells, as well as of large transnational terrorist groups.

As per training programme, the foundation course will be followed by Analysis Course, Basic and Enhanced Investigation Course, Financial Disruption Course, UN Security Council Resolutions Sanctions Course. The training programme's activities are funded by Germany, the United States of America and the Russian Federation.

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