Kazakhstan and the Council of Europe are expanding cooperation in the prevention of the abuse of virtual assets

Strasbourg, October 25, 2023 – On October 24-25, a working visit took place by the Kazakh delegation to the headquarters of the Council of Europe (CoE), led by the First Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Combating Corruption of the Republic of Kazakhstan, U. Sarkulov.

During the visit, Kazakh specialists participated in a two-day seminar on the prevention of the abuse of virtual assets, tools, and comparative experiences in combating economic crime, organized by the Economic Crime and Cooperation Division of the Council of Europe (ECCD).

Over 50 representatives from ministries, financial intelligence units, central banks, prosecutors' offices, anti-corruption agencies, and other institutions from 12 jurisdictions, including jurisdictions in Central Asia and the Southern Mediterranean, as well as Kosovo, participated in the event.

Delegates enhanced their practical knowledge and thoroughly examined issues related to the practical implementation of international standards concerning the abuse of virtual assets (VA) and the regulation of virtual asset service providers, potential risks of VA abuse for economic crimes, and practices related to the freezing, seizure, and recovery of VAs.

In his speech, U. Sarkulov informed about the successful cooperation with the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the progress of implementing anti-corruption policies in Kazakhstan, and emphasized that one of the priorities is the modernization of the legal framework, which establishes a solid foundation necessary for supervision and prevention, allowing Kazakhstan to achieve more socio-economic benefits.

The Head of the ECCD, Mustafa Ferati, expressed readiness to assist Kazakhstan in the return of assets illegally taken out of the country, including VA.

During the seminar presentation, Minister-counselor of the Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Strasbourg, S. Vassilenko, informed partners of our country's intention to accede to Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism and plans for closer cooperation with the CoE Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Countermeasures Legalization of criminal income and financing of terrorism (MONEYVAL).

Within the meeting with the Head of the Secretariat of the Committee of Experts on European Conventions on Cooperation in Criminal Matters (PC-OC), Hasan Bermek, the detailed discussions on bringing national legislation in line with international and European standards in the field of criminal justice took place, and an algorithm for our country's accession to European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (No. 30) was developed.

Reference: The PC-OC Committee provides an opinion on the application of a country wishing to accede to CoE Conventions in the field of criminal justice.