DUSHANBE, November 1, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Experts from the CIS nations will gather in Minsk, Belarus tomorrow for a two-day meeting.

The meeting participants will consider a draft agreement on setting up the council of financial intelligence unit chiefs, according to the CIS Executive Committee press service.

Money laundering and terrorism financing are today among the main threats to the security of all countries throughout the world.  Suppression of these international crimes requires coordination of efforts of several countries.  The draft agreement and the draft resolution on the establishment of the CIS council of financial intelligence unit chiefs have been worked out for these purposes.

The council is supposed to determine priority areas of cooperation and take joint effective measures to counteract the legalization of criminal earnings.  The council will also contribute to the development of common approaches to harmonization of national laws of the CIS nations.  The council is expected to work out suggestions for improvement of legal foundation of cooperation and coordinate interaction of the financial intelligence units with other competent bodies of the CIS nations.

The council will also develop programs and suggestions aimed at outlining priorities of cooperation, promoting introduction of 40 recommendations of the International Group for Combating Financial Abuse and nine special recommendations on fighting terrorism financing, the CIS Executive Committee press service said.

Financial intelligence (FININT) is the gathering of information about the financial affairs of entities of interest, to understand their nature and capabilities, and predict their intentions.