On 16 September 2020 the Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD), in cooperation with the Academy of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan, organised a webinar that contributed to better knowledge of CoE anti-corruption and anti-money laundering standards and monitoring mechanisms among partner institutions in Uzbekistan. The webinar brought together the authorities of Uzbekistan primarily involved in anti-corruption and anti-money laundering / countering financing of terrorism activities, including the General Prosecutor’s Office and its Academy, the newly created Anticorruption Agency, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, as well as the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

CoE standards and monitoring tools were presented by the ECCD colleagues, GRECO Executive Secretary, and a member of the of the Bureau of Conference of the Parties to the CETS 198. The CoE monitoring mechanisms received a lot of attention from counterparts in Uzbekistan, who wanted to understand in greater details the advantages of membership as well as country expectations. Similarly, participants were curious to get a better understanding of the systemic requirements for jurisdictions under CETS 198, such as the reversed burden of proof and practices in existing member states.

This activity was organised in the framework of the project “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime”, part of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The project is aimed at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan.