VZCZCXRO8237
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0317/01 0671029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071029Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0400
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3477
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1295
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1162
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1731
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2295

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000317 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB, INL 
TREASURY FOR BAKER/LANIER 
USAID/W FOR EE/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN EAID SNAR RS TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN CONSIDERS NATIONAL ANTI-MONEY 
LAUNDERING PROGRAM AT WORKSHOP 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  At a World Bank-sponsored anti-money 
laundering workshop, international and regional experts 
focused on the need for innovation, information technology, 
annual reviews, and international contact networks in 
discussing how to create financial intelligence units.  At 
the close of the seminar, the representative from 
Turkmenistan's Central Bank stated that Turkmenistan needs to 
join the Eurasian Group, a regional anti-money laundering 
organization, as a full member.  From all appearances, from 
level of attendance to the fact that key government figures 
gathered right after the conclusion of the workshop to 
continue discussing their next actions, Turkmenistan's 
government is ready to work seriously on anti-money 
laundering.  If Turkmenistan joins the Eurasian Group as a 
full member, this would be yet another significant move 
towards greater involvement with the world community.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In coordination with the Central Bank of 
Turkmenistan (CBT), the World Bank (WB) organized a workshop 
on Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Intelligence Units in 
Ashgabat March 4-5.  The event was widely attended by 
representatives from most of Turkmenistan's law enforcement, 
justice, financial and monetary agencies, including the 
Parliament, President's Office (Department on Law 
Coordination), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central Bank, 
Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Security, Ministry 
of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, General 
Prosecutor's Office, State Counternarcotics Service, State 
Tax Inspection Service, State Customs Service, State Border 
Service, Supreme Audit Chamber, State Statistics Committee, 
Institute for Strategic Planning and Economic Development, 
Supreme Council on Science and Technology, Academy of 
Sciences, Supreme Court, State Insurance Company, State Fund 
for Precious Metals and Stones, Ministry of Social Welfare 
(Department of Investments and Pension Contribution 
Management).  Representatives from the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 
and the Eurasian Group also participated. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Chair of the workshop and Head of the CBT's 
Supervision Department Halmurad Orazov opened the meeting by 
acknowledging Turkmenistan's entrance as an observer into the 
Eurasian Group, a regional anti-money laundering organization 
established in 2004 under the initiative of the Russian 
Federation.  He emphasized the importance of consulting with 
the world community in establishing a financial intelligence 
unit in Turkmenistan.  Orazov said that a parliamentary task 
force is currently working on adopting an 
anti-money-laundering law. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Throughout the workshop, many of the experts 
stressed that a discussion of this topic did not mean that 
anyone was criticizing Turkmenistan's financial industry.  In 
addition, speakers emphasized a thorough review process on an 
annual basis is healthy and necessary to keep up with 
innovative criminals who will find new ways of laundering 
money through technology and other means.  They also 
emphasized the need to build an international network of 
contacts, because money laundering activities are 
transnational.  Stanislav Smolyar of the Russian Federal 
Financial Monitoring Service and the Eurasian Group's Working 
Group on Technical Assistance also urged Turkmenistan to use 
information technology to fight money laundering and offered 
the EAG's assistance with that task.  The IMF's Giuseppe 
Lombardo reported that the IMF had worked closely with the 
Government of Turkmenistan on two drafts of the anti-money 
 
ASHGABAT 00000317  002 OF 002 
 
 
laundering law that the Parliament is currently considering. 
Noting a decree that President Berdimuhamedov issued in 
December 2007 which prohibits anonymous (or numbered) 
accounts, Lombardo said that Turkmenistan has shown that it 
is serious about combating money laundering and offered 
further IMF assistance. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In his closing remarks, Orazov called for 
Turkmenistan to join the Eurasian Group as a full member.  He 
noted the need for capacity building and acknowledged that 
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries offered 
assistance.  The World Bank/UNODC's Global Anti-Money 
Laundering Program Mentor, Cari Votava, agreed with Orazov 
that it is time for Turkmenistan to join the Eurasian Group 
as a full member, adding that she had initiated this 
discussion with the Central Bank in September, and had 
pressed for it as recently as March 3.  She suggested that 
next steps for Turkmenistan should include adoption of an 
anti-money laundering law authorizing establishment of a 
financial intelligence unit and reviewing other laws 
(criminal procedure code, and laws on banking, customs, 
insurance, securities, casinos, investment, etc.) for 
potential conflicts. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Votava noted participation by Turkmen 
officials at this anti-money laundering conference was the 
best she's seen in Central Asia over the past three years and 
took this as a sign of the seriousness that Turkmenistan 
attaches to this problem.  This is not surprising, given both 
Turkmenistan's increased interest over the last year in 
participating in a growing number of regional organizations 
and its traditional focus on maintaining order and security. 
One minute after the workshop ended, key Turkmen officials 
gathered at a table to continue internal discussions.  As 
Orazov mentioned in his closing remarks, "This (workshop) is 
just the first step."  END COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND