Belarus, Russia to bolster fight against money laundering

MINSK. May 25 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Belarus and Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) plan to expand collaboration in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, the National Bank's press service said on Monday.

"The parties signed the corresponding memorandum of understanding in Ashgabat on the sidelines of the 44th Plenary Week of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. The document was signed by Ilona Lednitskaya, Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and Yuri Chikhanchin, Director of Rosfinmonitoring," according to the statement.

The memorandum envisages developing collaboration in the area of combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF) regarding financial sector oversight activities.

Operations under the memorandum includes the exchange of relevant information, best supervisory practices, research results on risks and new money laundering schemes, the development of joint measures to mitigate risks and improve AML/CFT/CPF mechanisms, and the holding of conferences, seminars, and other activities.