An online webinar on the national risk assessment of the system for combating the legalization of proceeds of crime or other property and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in the Republic of Azerbaijan was held at the Chamber of Auditors on April 13, 2021.

The webinar was opened by Sabuhi Gulmammadov, Executive Director of the Chamber of Auditors, who informed the participants about the issue on the agenda and spoke about the exceptional importance of this issue for our country. He noted that, pursuant to Resolution No. 404 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated October 21, 2020, a Coordination Council was established to regularly conduct a national risk assessment of the system for combating the legalization of proceeds of crime or other property and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The main objective of the Coordination Council, established under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the participation of relevant authorities, is to understand AML/CFT risks at the national level, determine strategic objectives in relation to these risks, and take measures to mitigate the identified risks in accordance with the requirements of Recommendation 1 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) (Assessing risks and applying a risk-based approach).

Another objective of establishing the Coordination Council is to ensure the coordinated implementation of relevant measures to reform legislation and increase effectiveness in assessing the institutional environment in order to ensure preparedness for the fifth-round evaluation of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Council of Europe MONEYVAL Committee, scheduled to begin in 2021.

The establishment of the Coordination Council will also help coordinate the activities of various state bodies and the relevant private sector in the field of AML/CFT, respond to existing challenges in a timely manner, and establish an effective framework for combating risks identified through the national risk assessment system.

For this purpose, the questionnaires submitted by the Financial Monitoring Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Chamber of Auditors within the framework of preparations for the MONEYVAL Committee's fifth-round National Risk Assessment, namely the "Questionnaire on vulnerabilities in the Non-Financial Institutions/Professionals sector" in Annex 1 and the "Customer transactions conducted by DNFBPs during 2017-2020 (the DNFBP completes a separate form for each transaction)" in Annex 2, were sent to each member of the Chamber of Auditors, with a deadline of April 20, 2021 for completing and submitting the questionnaires to the Chamber of Auditors.

Nadjaf Talibov, Advisor to the Chairman of the Chamber of Auditors on Scientific and Methodological Issues, was then given the floor. In his speech, as the person responsible at the Chamber for the national risk assessment of the system for combating the legalization of proceeds of crime or other property and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in the Republic of Azerbaijan, he emphasized the importance of this document and clarified each of the provisions included in the questionnaires sent to the members of the Chamber of Auditors.

At the end, questions raised by the members of the Chamber were answered. It was emphasized once again during the webinar that if any questions arise regarding the implementation of this matter, the Chamber may be contacted again (Responsible person: Nadjaf Talibov, Advisor to the Chairman of the Chamber of Auditors on Scientific and Methodological Issues. Telephone: (012) 498-28-55 (ext. 134); mobile: (050) 330-55-22. E-mail: auditor.nadjaf@rambler.ru)

The heads of the relevant structural divisions and members of the Chamber participated in the webinar.