Azerbaijan’s compliance with FATF standards exceeds 90%

Azerbaijan has aligned its legislation with 40 standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), bringing the country’s compliance level to 90.5%, with the strategic goal of increasing this indicator to 100% during the next evaluation round.

The statement was made by Chairman of the Board of the Financial Monitoring Service Zaur Fatizade at the “First Risk and Resilience Conference in Azerbaijan” organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan).

He recalled that countries considered risky by FATF face partial isolation from the international financial system and limitations on investment opportunities.

“When a country is placed on the FATF grey list, serious standards are imposed on it. In such cases, capital flows decline by 7% to 10%, foreign direct investment falls by 3% to 5%, inflation rises, and other macroeconomic indicators are negatively affected,” he said.

Fatizade also noted that the lack of regulation of digital assets is creating new risks and threats within the financial sector.

According to him, virtual assets and electronic payment instruments are changing the nature of financial crimes.

“The absence of proper regulation for digital assets increases criminals’ use of financial instruments that are difficult to trace and contributes to the formation of an unfair business environment. The introduction of new technologies in financial institutions without proper testing creates ‘blind spots,’ which in turn raises the risk of cyberattacks,” he added.