Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis has approved amendments in a third reading aimed at strengthening the country’s legal mechanisms for combating terrorist financing.
The changes affect the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. They clarify the grounds for applying criminal-law measures to legal entities and seek to align national legislation with Azerbaijan’s international obligations and Financial Action Task Force standards.
Under the amendments, measures may be applied to a legal entity when an official commits an offense related to terrorist financing because of inadequate oversight of financial operations, even if the employee did not act in the legal entity’s interests.
Asset Detection and Freezing
The legislation focuses on the timely detection, prevention, freezing and confiscation of resources intended to finance a terrorist act, a terrorist organization or an individual terrorist.
The bill’s explanatory material distinguishes terrorist-financing offenses from ordinary economic crimes, noting that their purpose is to support terrorist activity rather than generate profit.
Approval in the third reading does not by itself bring the amendments into force. The legislation must still complete the remaining procedures required for it to take legal effect.