A Study of implementation of anti-money laundering mechanisms in the Republic of Armenia

Abstract

This paper is based on the results of the internship policy project conducted at the Financial Monitoring Center at the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. In recent years money laundering has become a huge problem for developed world. Increasingly, money laundering has also become a problem in many developing financial services sectors. In response, governments and other legal authorities in various jurisdictions have accelerated their issuance of new legislation, regulations, and cooperative actions, focused on combating money laundering, terrorist financing and related financial crime. The Republic of Armenia is currently engaged in the process of implementation of anti-money laundering mechanisms. The objective of this initiative to combat money laundering and to deter terrorist financing is to protect the rights, freedoms and legal interests of the citizens, society and the state through setting up legal mechanism to counter the legalization of illegal incomes and financing of terrorism in the Republic of Armenia. As all these anti-money laundering mechanisms are being newly implemented in Armenia, the agencies which are responsible for the realization of these mechanisms are newly created and require time to reach international standards. The paper aims at revealing all of these hindrances and weaknesses of the strategy implemented by the Financial Monitoring Center. The main goal of the policy project was to show some of the imperfections in the three year strategic plan of FMC as well as in other related documents and via some recommendations to develop them to become closer to international standards.