Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money-Laundering Policy

In July 2008, Uzbekistan joined the U.N. Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Following accession to UNCAC, an Inter-institutional Working Group was set up in Uzbekistan in 2008 to align the legislation with the UNCAC requirements. The Working Group is headed by the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor General’s Office, and consists of representatives from 12 ministries. Its task is to develop anti-corruption measures, including a national program on the fight against corruption.

Uzbekistan also joined the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN) in March 2010. In September 2010, as an integral part of implementation of the Istanbul Action Plan, Uzbekistan submitted to the peer review expert team the completed questionnaire to allow the experts to assess the national anti-corruption legal and institutional frameworks in terms of their compliance with UNCAC, and other international legal instruments and standards.

Uzbekistan is a member of the Eurasian group on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism (EAG). The Mutual Evaluation Report of Uzbekistan was adopted during the EAG Plenary meeting in Almaty in June 2010. The first Mutual Evaluation Follow-up Report was adopted by EAG in December 2010. The amendments to Anti-Money-Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Legislation Act (AML/CFT) came into force on April 22, 2009. Amendments to 16 other laws were adopted by the Parliament in September 2009.

In its February 2010 statement, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) welcomed Uzbekistan’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime. Uzbekistan is no longer subject to the FATF’s enhanced monitoring process.

Uzbek Financial Intelligence Units became an Egmont Group member during the 19th Plenary meeting in July 2011 to find ways to cooperate, especially in the areas of information exchange, training, and the sharing of expertise.