Workshop dedicated to Anti-Money Laundering and Fighting against Terrorism Financing was held at Rooms Hotel in Tbilisi on June 6, 2016 as organized by the Council of Europe Office in Georgia.

H.E. Nodar Khaduri, Minister of Finance of Georgia and Chairman of Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Money Laundering and Fighting against Terrorism Financing officially launched the meeting, along with Mr. Christian Urse, Head of Council of Europe Office in Georgia.

Discussions were held on current international standards and mechanisms of Anti-Money Laundering and Fighting against Terrorism Financing, along with efforts made by Georgia within this context.

“Money laundering and terrorism financing remains one of the most serious challenges of the modern world. We have been working on the task for the last several years. Inter-Agency Council has been established and led by the Ministry of Finance. Today we have gathered within such council to share the experience of our partners – European Union and Council of Europe. Georgia has developed a Strategy for Anti-Money Laundering and Fights against Terrorism Financing. Implementation has been commenced and all the commitments made by the country comply with the visa-liberalization process have been honored” noted the Minister of Finance of Georgia.

“We shall discuss the issues related to the Anti-Money Laundering and Fight against Terrorism Financing in Georgia at the meeting held today by the Council of Europe. We are delighted that the meeting is attended by our experts, who have wealth of experience in the topics covered here. We shall also talk with Inter-Agency Council Members on the measures that the country should make against money laundering and terrorism financing. It covers improvement of the legislation and capacity building” noted Mr. Christian Urse, Head of Council of Europe Office in Georgia.

Participants of the Workshop also discussed the MONEYVAL Report released in 2012 by the Committee of the Council of Europe Assessment Experts and recommended action plan, National AML/CFT Strategy and Action Plan of Georgia and Risk Assessment Analysis documents.

Various ministry officials, international and local experts also took part in the discussions.