BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 30
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the quarantine restrictions that came along with it, affected almost all business segments both throughout the world and in Azerbaijan, Chief Director of Compliance and Management of PASHA Bank, Chairman of the Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Working Group at the Azerbaijan Banks Association, Anar Karimov told Trend.
According to Karimov, the COVID-19 lockdown also affected the compliance functions of banks.
For example, the risks of possible cyber attacks and other negative actions from the outside have increased because during the restrictions clients of financial institutions began to use more digital services, he said.
“In this regard, the compliance function was aimed at more effective control for the daily operations and the maximum prevention of incidents,” said Karimov.
The director noted that PASHA Bank was one of the first to use the compliance function in the financial sector.
"Recently, all 26 banks operating in Azerbaijan have begun to show active interest in this area. However, this professional direction in Azerbaijan is still at a very basic level, it is being actively formed," Karimov said.
Besides, Karimov pointed out that the demand for foreign currency has increased in the Azerbaijani foreign exchange market since March 2020. This was followed by the establishment of a limit on the sale of currency by the currency market regulator (Central Bank of Azerbaijan), which could potentially increase the risk of speculation in the local market.
"Thus, the responsibility of the staff involved in the compliance sector has increased even more. They were authorized to prevent such negative cases, analyze the foreign exchange earnings, as well as to reveal suspicious transactions. As a result of the effective work, the activity of speculators in the market was suppressed,” Karimov said.
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