The PGGII Project against money laundering and terrorism financing in Azerbaijan continues to support the national authorities in their efforts to align the national legislation with international standards and best practices geared to anti-money laundering and combatting terrorist financing.

On 14 December 2020, a consultation meeting took place between the Council of Europe and the representatives of the Financial Monitoring Service and State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy to discuss the state of play of beneficial ownership transparency and the related national legislative process. The meeting also aimed to better understand the needs of the national authorities, which will be reflected in a Legal Opinion on the legislative framework of Azerbaijan in relation to beneficial ownership. The recommendations in the Legal Opinion are expected to support the government in enhancing beneficial ownership transparency and addressing relevant international requirements.

The Project has previously provided a comprehensive analysis and recommendations with regard to the draft legislative framework on anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing (AML/CFT) and targeted financial sanctions, to help ensure their compliance with international standards and best practices. This new initiative focusing on the legal framework on beneficial ownership comes as complementary support to the overall AML/CFT system in Azerbaijan.

This activity is organised within the framework of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance II Project on “Strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in Azerbaijan” (PGG II-AZ) which is funded jointly by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.