OSCE-supported certification programme for combatting money laundering and financing of terrorism launched in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported certification programme aimed to help representatives of the banking sector to detect and to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing in compliance with international standards was launched on 19 October 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

It was presented to some 30 specialists from nearly 20 second-tier banks at the opening of the three-day training seminar that was organized in co-operation with the Finance Ministry’s Financial Monitoring Committee, the National Bank, the Financial Institutions’ Association and the United States Embassy in Astana. The training event’s purpose is to build the capacity of Kazakhstan’s financial sector to use available tools and best practices in countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Participants of the seminar will also review the methods and schemes of bank fraud and discuss ways to enhance interaction between the competent authorities and the representatives of the financial sector in investigating cases of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

A national component of the certification programme was designed by the representatives of the Finance Ministry’s Financial Monitoring Committee, the National Bank, the Financial Institutions’ Association, four second-tier banks and an OSCE expert from Ukraine. The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists will lead the subsequent international component of the programme and will get additional training with the support of the US Embassy in Astana on 9-10 December 2015 in Almaty.

The event is a part of the Office’s long-standing efforts to assist the host country in combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.