On October 15-16, 2013, the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv, Ukraine hosted the 9th 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 UNODC also took part in the meeting.
Participating delegations exchanged information on the operational situation and activities of GUAM member states’ agencies in counteracting money laundering, including cooperation with international organisations (i.e. MONEYVAL, FATF, Egmont Group, ACN/OECD).
The Working Sub-Group examined the course of implementation of the joint GUAM-UNODC project, supported by the USA, in combating money laundering. The Working Sub-Group noted the successful outcomes of the workshops held under this project and expressed interest in further developing cooperation for training experts in regard to the achieved results. Achievements such as broadening information exchange between GUAM and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of activities in combating corruption, as well as strengthening contacts with the Southeast European Law Enforcement Centre (SELEC), were also deemed expedient within the international cooperation framework.
The Parties underlined the great importance of combating the laundering of crime proceeds via electronic money systems and reaffirmed the necessity of developing cooperation and sharing experience in this area.
The outcomes of the meeting were reflected in the resultant Protocol. The next meeting of the WGS-CML is scheduled to take place in April 2014.
