On 14-16 November 2022, the Economic Crime and Cooperation Division, through the Action on “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” in Central Asia, held a three-day awareness raising webinar on “Ethics, Anti-Corruption Compliance, Risk Management and Anti-Bribery for representatives of business entities in Turkmenistan”.
The event gathered 16 representatives of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat Stock Exchange, small and medium enterprises, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Financial Monitoring Service at the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan, and the Prosecutor General Office of Turkmenistan.
The webinar aimed to raise awareness of the business sector on anti-corruption compliance programs and integrity policy instruments, with a special focus on risk assessment and management. The event also aimed to explain and identify red flags in the context of corruption practices and provide practical examples how to identify and address them. Participants learned about international standards and practices on codes of conduct, conflict of interest and mechanism of cooperation between the public and private sectors in the prevention and fight against corruption. The event deepened the understanding regarding the importance of integrity due diligence on third parties and set out the basis of an integrity plan and basic steps required for development and implementation of an anti-corruption programme.
Moreover, participants were guided through examples of anti-corruption legislation at the international level (such as FCPA of the USA, Sapin II of France, Anti-Bribery Act of the UK) followed by case studies and examples illustrating how these acts are practically applied. Discussions on the strengths and weaknesses of the anti-corruption legislation of Turkmenistan including what steps should be taken to improve the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences were also raised during the event. Attendees explored and shared their views on how business associations can facilitate the creation of anti-corruption programmes in the private sector of Turkmenistan.
This activity was organised by the Action on “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime”, in the framework of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, which is a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Action is aimed at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).