Azerbaijani financial institutions may be fined for anti-fraud breaches

Organisations that fail to comply with the requirements of a planned anti-fraud law for Azerbaijan's financial sector may face fines, Elnur Eyvazli, director of the Information Security, Cybersecurity and Digital Fraud Prevention Department at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, told Report.

Eyvazli said the expected anti-fraud legislation would help establish unified requirements in the financial sector.

"Once these requirements are defined, all financial sector participants will have to operate in line with them. At minimum, a single standard will be formed, and the entire financial sector will comply with these standards," he said.

He said institutions are usually given one year to adapt after new rules are adopted.

"Starting from the following year, inspections are carried out based on those requirements. Similar inspections will also be conducted in the anti-fraud area, just as they are carried out under information security rules," Eyvazli said.

He added that appropriate measures could be taken against violations detected during inspections.

"The Central Bank has a certain procedure on this issue. Under that procedure, a warning may first be issued, followed by financial penalties," he said.