The Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) is currently supporting the Czech Republic with the implementation of the findings of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) risk assessment of the Non-Profit Organisations’ (NPOs) sector previously conducted by Czech authorities.
Following the development of Guidelines for NPOs on conducting ML/TF Risk Assessment, the Council of Europe is providing technical assistance in this area by organising a series of awareness-raising activities for the various NPOs operating in Czech Republic. In close cooperation with the Czech Ministry of Interior, the ECCD supported the organisation of an online workshop on 25 January 2022 which gathered not only participants from the NPOs being active at the international level, but also representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, the Financial Analytical Office (Czech FIU) and law enforcement agencies.
The Workshop was opened by the Ministry of Interior’s representatives, who presented the main ML/TF risks identified in the Czech Republic that could be associated with the activities carried out by the NPOs and provided an overview of their recently sector-specific awareness raising activities regarding the prevention of terrorist financing. The second part of the event was dedicated to an in-depth presentation of international standards and internationally recognised ML/TF risks associated with NPOs, as well as of common characteristics of high-risk NPOs. The last session focused on the presentation of the “Guidelines for NPOs on conducting ML/TF Risk Assessment” and provided an opportunity for participants to expand their knowledge on the main ML/TF risk indicators that could be used for NPOs’ self-assessment, as well as to get a better understanding of the risk management and mitigation measures to be taken in order to avoid the abuse of their important role in the society by terrorists and their financiers or by money launderers.
The activity was organised within the framework of the Structural Reform Support Programme initiative on “Enhancing effectiveness of the AML/CFT regime in the Czech Republic”, funded by the European Commission Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.