Mamarizo Nurmurodov explains why transfers of more than 165 million soums are open to doubt

At the beginning of April, changes were made to the rules of internal control in commercial banks.

According to it, the following operations of bank card holders are considered suspicious:

•  transfer of funds from the customer’s bank card to one or more bank cards or electronic wallets in a total amount equal to or greater than 500 BCAs (165 million soums) for a period not exceeding 30 days through the bank mobile application;
•  simultaneous or multiple withdrawals from one or more bank cards or electronic wallets to the customer’s bank card in a total amount equal to or greater than 500 BCAs within a period not exceeding 30 days;
•  transfer (or receipt) of funds from 5 or more bank cards (e-wallet) to a foreign e-wallet through the bank’s mobile application simultaneously or multiple times for a period not exceeding 30 days;
•  transfer (or receipt) of funds from 1 bank card (e-wallet) to 5 or more foreign bank cards or foreign e-wallets simultaneously or multiple times within a period not exceeding 30 days through the bank’s mobile application.

Information about suspicious transactions is transferred to the Department of Taxation, Currency Crimes and Anti-Money Laundering under the Prosecutor General’s Office, which is an authorized state body.

Public activists expressed concern that with the publication of this news, these online depositors will also be questioned, or that one individual will transfer more than 165 million soums from his card to another card.

The Central Bank made a statement that the new rules do not apply to the return of deposits of individuals to e-wallets or bank cards, as well as to payments for goods and services.

However, according to the rules, banks must inform the department about transactions exceeding 165 million soums.

Mamarizo Nurmurodov, the CB Chairman, informed the Kun.uz correspondent about this new procedure during the press conference held at the Central Bank on May 4. According to him, this innovation was introduced based on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“According to FATF requirements, suspicious transactions are monitored in the banking system based on internal control requirements. It doesn’t matter what kind of operation it is. For example, whether it is our foreign exchange transaction with you or any other transaction, it is always subject to the bank’s internal control. This includes card-to-card transfers above the said 165 million soums. Here, it is given to the department only if there are risks related to the legalization of proceeds from criminal activities. The fact that it was given to the department does not mean that a criminal case has been opened against that person. It is given to the department only because it belongs to the suspicious category,” he said.

Nurmurodov noted that these are universally recognized recommendations, and not only Uzbekistan, but also other countries in the world operate on the basis of FATF requirements.

“FATF made such recommendations during the monitoring process conducted with us. We have taken this into account in this process. It is not correct to connect this with any changes in the population’s savings or money transfers,” the head of the regulator said.