The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Financial Monitoring Service of Georgia, organised a two-day hybrid training on “Anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance for alternative payment methods” specifically designed for the representatives of commercial banks and payment service providers.
The training is a part of a sequence of activities to support the national authorities’ efforts in enhancing AML/CFT compliance, and in ensuring the effective supervision, over the alternative payment methods.
The training followed MONEYVAL 5th Round Evaluation Report of Georgia 2020 (MER) which surfaced the fact that Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) in Georgia were not subject to AML/CFT requirements, and therefore recommended the country to establish measures to prevent and mitigate the ML/FT risks that could derive from virtual assets. Following MONEYVAL’s recommendation, the amended AML Law of Georgia 2019 included VASPs amongst the entities with an obligation to report suspicious AML/CTF activity, and therefore under the supervision of the National Bank of Georgia. The training was therefore very relevant in that it contributed to training the financial sector in Georgia so that they can implement better the new legal requirements that will further enhance the prevention against the abuse of new payment methods for economic crime.
During the meeting, participants discussed the applicable international AML/CFT standards, current financial crime trends related to new payment methods, and best practices in that field. The Council of Europe international experts highlighted the characteristics of alternative payments, and the need to apply appropriate and effective AML/CFT controls specific to them. In addition to the interactive presentations, participants reviewed real case studies to illustrate how to apply the principles and techniques that had been discussed during the two-day training. Looking forward, a discussion about emerging and future trends and on new or upcoming regulations to mitigate financial crime risks relating to alternative payment, closed the sessions.
This capacity-building activity contributed to the efforts by Georgian authorities’ in implementing MONEYVAL recommendations, which included the establishment of effective AML/CFT supervision, and the development of a sound understanding by supervisors and obliged entities of the AML/CFT risks associated with the sector, as well as the relevant AML/CFT obligations.
The activity was organised in the framework of the project “Enhancing the Systems of Prevention and Combating Corruption, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Georgia”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.