Press Release

UNODC strengthens the capacity of the competent national authorities of the Republic of Tajikistan to counter the financing of terrorism

23 July 2021

On 28-30 June, the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia jointly with INTERPOL, the UN Investigative Group on bringing to justice for crimes committed by Daesh/ISIL (UNITAD) and the competent national authorities of the Republic of Tajikistan, conducted the Foundation Course on Countering the Financing of Terrorism in Dushanbe.

The representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office, Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, and Financial Monitoring Department under the National Bank of Tajikistan took part in the course.

The course was delivered by Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) international expert jointly with INTERPOL and UNITAD experts who shared learning and international best practices in countering the financing of terrorism.

The course materials were developed by the UNODC AML/CFT Adviser and international AML/CFT experts with an emphasis on the national legislation of Tajikistan.

“During the course, the participants will learn about the aims and objectives of a terrorist organization, the terrorism financing cycle, among other issues. Within three days of the course, representatives from respective agencies will form a team to effectively work on CFT issues after the training course,” said Mr. Aliaksandr Vadziany, UNODC Regional Adviser on AML/CFT, in his opening remarks.

The UNODC Global Programme against Money Laundering jointly with Terrorism Prevention Branch in cooperation with INTERPOL and UNITAD launched the Programme on Countering the Financing of Terrorism “Strengthening Effective Counterterrorism Finance Systems” for the law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan.

The main objectives of the programme are strengthening the capacity of the respective agencies in Tajikistan to understand the risks of terrorism and its financing, identification of illegal financial flows and investigation of crimes related to terrorism.

The programme is in line with the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1267, 1373, 2462, other related resolutions and the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In 2019-2020, UNODC jointly with the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Financial Monitoring Department under the National Bank of Tajikistan successfully implemented the first stage of the programme. As a result, the capacity of the competent authorities of Tajikistan in conducting investigations related to the financing of terrorism was strengthened. Fifty specialists from the law enforcement agencies and supervisory authorities were trained. National partners expressed their interest in continuing education on CFT.

The course was conducted under the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia’s Programme on Countering the Financing of Terrorism with the expert support of the UNODC Global Programme against Money Laundering. The Programme on Countering the Financing of Terrorism is funded by the Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State.