On April 25-26, 2013, the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv, Ukraine hosted the 8th 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, UNODC and ACN/OECD also took part in the meeting.
Participating delegations exchanged information on the operational situation and the activities of GUAM member states’ agencies, including interaction at the bilateral and multilateral levels, as well as cooperation with international organisations (MONEYVAL, FATF, Egmont Group, GRECO, ACN/OECD).
The Working Sub-Group examined the development of GUAM projects on combating money laundering, which are being implemented jointly with UNODC, and on combating corruption, being implemented jointly with ACN/OECD, both of which are being realised with US support. The delegations discussed the possible directions in terms of the further development of cooperation with the aforementioned organisations. The Working Sub-Group also strongly advised in favour of strengthening cooperation with the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC).
The delegations exchanged information regarding the formation of national legislation regulating use of electronic money. The Working Sub-Group discussed the possibilities of organising a joint round table on cooperation in combating illegal use of electronic money; this event would involve representatives of FIUs, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, national banks, and financial institutions.
The outcomes of the meeting were reflected in the resultant Protocol. The next meeting of the WGS-CML is scheduled to take place in October 2013.
