Eurasian Group on combating money laundering and terrorist financing (EAG)

EAG is a regional structure FATF-type (RGTF). It unites the states of the Eurasian region: Byelorussia, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It is appealed to play an important role in the issues of terrorism threat reduction and guarantee of transparency, reliability and security of the financial systems of the states of the region, and also involvement of the countries of the region in the international system of counteraction against money-laundering and terrorism financing.

Constituent documents of EAG (Declaration on the establishment of EAG, Terms of Reference of EAG) were signed by the states on October 6, 2004.

EAG supreme body is the Plenary meeting that is held two times a year with participation of member-states of EAG and observers.

16 states have the status of observer in EAG: Armenia, Afghanistan, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, India, Italia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, USA, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, France and Japan; and 14 international regional organizations.

EAG holds active work on cooperation with observers of the group; one of the trends of this group is realization of the program of technical assistance to each EAG member-state.

 Kazakhstan was also involved in a number of consultations and training seminars organized by UNOCD, World Bank/IMF, OSCE, Embassy of the U.S. in Kazakhstan and other donors.

EAG is headed by the Chairman of the group elected for the term of 2 years by the Plenary meeting. Now the Chairman of EAG is Markov Oleg Alexandrovich, the assistant of the president of Russian Federation.

Function of the working body of EAG is performed by EAG Secretariat; its Executive secretary is Igor Nebyvaev.

The following working groups were created and are functioning in terms of EAG:

• Working group on mutual estimations and legal issues
• Working group on typologies
• Working group on technical assistance
• Temporary working group on elaboration of operational guidance.

Co-chairman of the working group on technical assistance is the head of the department of the Committee on financial monitoring Arda Igembaev.

EAG strives to render assistance to the states of the region in creation and development of national systems of counteraction against money-laundering and terrorism financing (POD/FT), to increase the potential; of economic growth and sustainable development of the region, decrease the crime rate, improve the managing of the financial sector and the economy of the member-states.

Key task of EAG:

• Assistance in distribution of international standards in the sphere POD/FT in Eurasian region and introduction of 40+9 FATF recommendations by the member-states of EAG;
• Elaboration and realization of joint training activities in the sphere POD/FT within terms of reference of divisions of financial investigation ;
• Realization of programs of mutual estimation of EAG member-states on the basis of 40+9 FATF recommendations including studying of the efficiency of legislative and other measures;
• Coordination of the programs of cooperation with international organizations working groups and interested states;
• Analyses of typologies in the sphere of money-laundering and terrorism financing and interchange of experience of counteraction against such crimes taking into account the peculiarities of the region.
• Rendering of the technical assistance to EAG member-states.

Realization of these tasks is directed at higher efficiency of POD/FT system modes of each EAG member-state and increased potential of the economic growth and sustainable development of the region.

Detailed information you can find on the official site of the EAG (www.eurasiangroup.org)