Representatives of competent authorities of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Tajikistan signed the document according to which the Eurasian group on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism (EAG) was established and the Terms of Reference of the EAG were approved.

 

The EAG is open to other states of the Eurasian region which can become members of the Group after approval of the EAG Plenary meeting (the supreme body).

 

The Director of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Russia) V.A.Zubkov was elected chairman of the EAG, the First Deputy Head of the Agency on combating economic crime and corruption of the Republic of Kazakhstan R.A.Ibraimov was elected his deputy.

 

The Inaugural conference decided to grant the observer status in the EAG to France, Georgia, Italy, the United Kingdom, the USA, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan (can become an EAG member in the near future), as well as to the FATF, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Interpol, UNODC, the CIS Executive Committee, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Eurasian Economic Community (EEC).

 

The EAG is open to other states and international organizations supporting the purposes and tasks of the EAG who can receive the observer status by the decision of the EAG Plenary meeting, and participate in the activity of the Eurasian Group without voting rights.

 

The primary goals of the EAG are: assistance in promoting international standards in the sphere of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism with regard to the specifics of the region; development and carrying out of joint actions within the limits of the competence of financial intelligence units; evaluation of the efficiency of measures taken to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism; coordination of programs of cooperation with international organizations, working groups and interested countries; analysis of trends (typologies) in the sphere of money laundering and financings of terrorism, and exchange of experience in combating such crimes.

 

The EAG Secretariat is situated in Moscow, its activities are financed by the Russian Federation.

 

The First EAG Plenary meeting is to be held in Moscow on December 8, 2004.

 

At the October 2004 FATF Plenary meeting the EAG was accepted as observer to FATF.