On April 26-27, 2012, the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv, Ukraine hosted the fifth meeting of the Working Sub-Group on Combating Corruption and Money Laundering (WGS-CML), which was held under Georgia’s chairmanship. Representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) took part in the meeting.
The delegations exchanged information on the development of national legislation, the operational situation and the fulfilment of tasks by the relevant institutions of the GUAM Member States in terms of combating corruption and money laundering.
The Working Sub-Group coordinated the practical issues associated with fulfilling the joint GUAM-UNODC Project “Strengthening GUAM Member States’ opportunities for cooperation both at the national and regional levels in combating money laundering and the seizure and confiscation of proceeds from criminal activity”, which is being supported by the USA.
The Working Sub-Group supported the process of implementing the joint GUAM project with the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN), with support from the USA, in order to strengthen opportunities to influence, investigate and prosecute instances of crime committed in relation to corruption and money laundering.
Representatives of the delegations informed participants about the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation regarding the participation of GUAM Member States in performing the work carried out by international organisations in preventing and combating corruption and money laundering.
The participating delegations discussed the broadening of direct channels of communication between the relevant ministries and agencies, operating both at the national and regional levels, in order to improve information sharing and cooperation.
The outcomes of the meeting were reflected in the resultant Protocol. The next meeting of the Working Sub-Group is scheduled to take place in September 2012.
