DUSHANBE, October 9, 2014, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament has endorsed amendments proposed to the country’s law on pawnshops.
A regular sitting of the six session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the fourth convocation, presided over by its head, Shukurjon Zuhurov, was held on October 9.
Presenting the bill requiring amendments to the country’s law on pawnshops, the first deputy head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), Jamshed Yusufiyon, said the amendments were made upon recommendations of international organizations combating money laundering.
The amendments, in particular, obligate the pawnshop owners to report large-scale dubious deals to the law enforcement authorities.
We will recall that the Majlisi Namoyandgon passed the law on pawnshops on February 27, 2013. Tajik parliamentarians reportedly studied experiences of Russia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Belarus while drafting the law on pawnshops.
More than 30 pawnshops now function in Dushanbe and Khujand.
A pawnshop offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. If an item is pawned for a loan, within a certain contractual period of time the pawner may redeem it for the amount of the loan plus some agreed-upon amount for interest. The amount of time, and rate of interest, is governed by law or by the pawnshop”s policies. If the loan is not paid (or extended, if applicable) within the time period, the pawned item will be offered for sale by the pawnshop.
The Majlisi Namoyandagon deputies today also endorsed amendments proposed to the laws on youth and national youth policy, banking activity, security, chattel mortgage, the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, precious stones and precious metals, and non-state pension funds.
