Indore, Nov 25 (PTI) India was lauded for its efforts to implement measures against money laundering and terror financing on the first day of the 41st plenary meeting of Eurasian Group (EAG), which began in Indore on Monday, an official said.
A Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) report granting top standing to India was also adopted.
The five-day meeting, involving nine member countries including India, will deliberate and chart out a road map to deal with the growing challenges of cyber crimes, money laundering and financing of terrorism, the official said.
“In the first session of the meeting, representatives from member countries hailed India for getting the highest rating of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),” said Vivek Agrawal, additional secretary, revenue department of the Ministry of Finance, who is representing India at the meet.
He said the FATF placed India in the category of “regular follow-up”, the highest rating given by the independent inter-governmental body after assessing the country’s efforts to implement measures to combat illegal activities such as money laundering and terror financing.
Agrawal told reporters that member countries will discuss issues such as money laundering, illegal transactions of money, terrorism financing and cyber crimes and their solutions in the upcoming sessions of the meeting.
He said representatives of the fintech industry will also discuss the financial products that can trigger crime during one of the sessions.
They will also ponder on legal ways to combat crimes and training law enforcers will need, he added.
Based on the discussions held for three days, member countries will adopt a resolution during the plenary session of the meeting, Agrawal added.
Public representatives, including Indore Lok Sabha member Shankar Lalwani, state Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava and district magistrate Ashish Singh participated in the welcome session of the meet, being hosted by India’s cleanest city.
Lalwani underlined the need for better coordination at the international level to tackle the growing challenges of cyber crimes, money laundering, and terror financing, and proposed the formation of a joint investigation team.
About 200 representatives from member countries Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and 60 from India are participating in the event, officials said.
They include members from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other organisations, they added.
The participants planted saplings in a garden, named “Eurasia Garden” by the Indore Municipal Corporation to commemorate the meeting, in the evening. PTI HWP LAL ARU NSK
About the Author
