The Eurasian Group published the outcomes of the IV Forum of parliamentarians of its member states, held on 28 May 2025, where participants approved a final declaration focused on preparing for the third round of mutual evaluations and aligning national laws with updated Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, standards. The declaration calls for stronger legal frameworks for international cooperation, especially mutual legal assistance and cross-border identification, tracing, freezing, seizure, confiscation and return of criminal assets, including property of equivalent value. Discussions also covered legislative implementation of revised standards on confiscation, the growing use of shadow financial services and virtual assets to move and conceal fraud proceeds, and the need to strengthen regulation of virtual assets to prevent illicit use. Participants stressed closer coordination between legislative and executive authorities and highlighted interaction between financial intelligence units and parliaments, including regular reporting by FIU heads. A FATF Secretariat representative noted that the forthcoming evaluation round will be more risk-based and more focused on effective implementation of FATF standards, with countries receiving road maps for needed anti-money laundering, counterterrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing reforms.
Eurasian Group (EAG)2025-06-02
Eurasian Group parliamentary forum approves declaration on legal reforms for mutual evaluations, asset recovery and virtual assets
The Eurasian Group published the outcomes of its IV parliamentary forum, where participants approved a declaration calling for legal reforms ahead of the third round of mutual evaluations and implementation of updated FATF standards. The declaration prioritizes stronger cross-border asset recovery tools, confiscation frameworks and tighter regulation of virtual assets to limit their use for laundering criminal proceeds.