UNODC conducts another training on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism  

60 officers from 5 competent authorities, which are National Information Analytical Centre on Drug Control (NCDC) under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, State Security Service (SCS), Ministry of Interior, State Customs Committee and the Department on Combatting Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor’s Office has attended the training course led by four experts of the Turkish International Academy Against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC): İlker Çınar, 4th Degree of Police Chief, Deputy Director of the Division of Fight Against Financial Crimes within Provincial Police Department of Ankara; İbrahim Yılmaz, Inspector, Chief of the Bureau of the International Trainings in the Division of TADOC within the Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime since 2015; Mesut Can Yüce, Inspector, Chief of the Bureau of the Researching on Proceeds of Crime in the Division of Proceeds of Crime within the Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime since 2017; Gökhan Alpay, Deputy Inspector, Deputy Chief of the Bureau of the Researching on Proceeds of Crime in the Division of Proceeds of Crime within the Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime since 2019. 

Mr. Yusuf Kurbonov, UNODC International Coordinator, In his opening speech thanked the Government of Japan and the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Uzbekistan for the support provided for the IMT project, which has been actively working since 2017 and has achieved great positive results over the past 3-4 years. The report of the National Center for the Seizure of Narcotic Drugs for 2020-2021 clearly highlights the results of the work of IMT. He also mentioned that it was gratifying to note that this project was a good example for many neighboring countries that are actively showing their interest for the subsequent implementation of IMTs in their countries.

The aim of the training program was to equip law enforcement officers of anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism units in their countries with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities that will help them successfully fulfill their tasks and responsibilities. It is designed for law enforcement officers who are responsible for the investigation of financial crimes in departments fighting against illicit trafficking of narcotics and organized crimes. 

Several topical issues on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism were covered by TADOC experts during the training, including:   

  • The role of financial investigation units;
  •  Preparing and effectively conducting money laundering investigation;
  • Investigation techniques used in identifying persons and funds, analyzing
  • documents and developing paper trails in financial investigations;  
  • Transfer systems to be used by financial institutions in relation with suspicious
  • money transfers;
  • List the basic indicators describing dirty money transfers,
  • Brief related international conventions and money laundering, asset forfeiture and
  • confiscation legislations,
  • Present the evidences to be collected during the investigation efficiently before the court.

Ravshanjon Ruziev, Director of the Situation Center at the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan mentioned: “This training on  anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism is very relevant at the moment for Uzbekistan. A recent assessment of the national system of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of countering the legalization of criminal proceeds, the financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which Uzbekistan has been undergoing over the past two years, has shown that this direction has a very great impact on the development of Uzbekistan. As a result, a lot of tasks in this area have been identified. For IMT officers, this training would be very useful for a deeper understanding of the methods of countering money laundering”.

As evidenced by the post-training survey, the training participants enhanced their knowledge and skills on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism. 

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IMT units increased the efficiency of interagency cooperation as (i) intelligence sharing within IMT units occurs through simplified procedures; (ii) planning and organization of joint operations go quicker and smoother; and (iii) investigations are done based on the outstanding experience of each involved agency to complement their work. IMTs aim to enhance the operational capacities of the law enforcement agencies of Uzbekistan with the purpose of promoting a safe, healthy and secure society in line with the Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

To date, thirteen offices of Interagency Mobile Teams (IMTs) aimed at countering drug trafficking are operating in all 12 regions of Uzbekistan and Republic of Karakalpakstan on the initiative of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with the technical support of the UNODC ROCA.

The component is being implemented within the Sub-programme 1 “Countering transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking and preventing terrorism” of the UNODC Programme for Central Asia 2022-2025 and is funded by the Government of Japan.