Fourth Meeting of the High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

March 1, 2021 - The fourth meeting of the High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing was held under the chairmanship of Ajmal Ahmady, the acting Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank and the Chairman of the High Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.

In this meeting, Mr. Ajmal Ahmady, the acting Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, who also serves as the Chairman of the High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, appreciated the participation of the members of this commission, adding that the meetings of this commission are very important in terms of security and economy as the Government of Afghanistan is committed to implementing the Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) recommendations.

Mr. Ajmal Ahmady emphasized on further cooperation and coordination between the organizations included in the High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, adding that without the cooperation of the organizations included in the system of combating money laundering and terrorism financing, no organization can take effective steps alone by itself to safeguard the economic and financial sectors and the citizens from crimes related to money laundering, terrorism financing and other economic crimes.

After that the officials of the High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing presented a brief report on previous meetings and the progress of the National Money Laundering and Terrorism Risk Assessment Action Plan implementation by the Coordinator of the National Money Laundering and Terrorism Risk Assessment Process. Subsequently, as per the agenda of the meeting, the members of the High Commission reported to the Commission on the progress of the National Money Laundering Risk Assessment Action Plan in their respective organizations.

At the end of the meeting, the Secretariat of the High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing presented to the commission a draft of the publishable version of the National Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing for approval, which was approved and instructed that the said draft should be published through the website of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center.

The members of the High Level Coordination Commission are also responsible for tracking the implementation of the Action Plan on the National Risks Assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing in relevant organizations. During the meeting, it was decided that the members thereof shall report progress of the Action Plan on the National Risks Assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing to the Commission.

It is noteworthy that the final draft of the procedure of the High Commission and the final draft of the procedure of working committee of the above-mentioned commission were also approved by the commission.

Afghanistan is scheduled to be re-evaluated by the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in the near future. This meeting was held in order to achieve the specified objectives and implement the recommendations of the International Financial Action Task Force.

The High Level Coordination Commission on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing has been established in accordance with Article 33 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crimes Law, and is composed of Deputy Ministers of eight organizations, chaired by the Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank.