A regional workshop on “Threats, vulnerabilities and emerging financial crime risks linked to cross-border criminal activity and measures for its detection and disruption” brought together over 30 professionals from financial intelligence units, central banks, tax and customs authorities from the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.
Over two days, experts and participants explored how illicit actors exploit regulatory differences and weak controls across jurisdictions. Through presentations and case studies, attendees examined advanced tactics and discussed innovative solutions leveraging data analysis, public‑private partnerships and targeted supervisory efforts. The event provided a dedicated platform for participants to deepen their understanding of evolving cross-border financial crime risks and to strengthen cooperative and preventive efforts in tackling these threats.
A central focus was on strengthening cross‑border cooperation. Participants engaged in expert-led sessions focused on practical tools and strategies for improving inter-agency collaboration, enhancing detection capabilities and disrupting illicit financial operations that span borders. The workshop also emphasized the importance of data-driven approaches, and shared intelligence in mitigating cross-border financial vulnerabilities. The Council of Europe’s methodological approach towards assessing cross-border money laundering and financing of terrorism risks highlighted the sources of information to be considered for assessing this particular type of risk and the need for effective risk mitigating measures.
This initiative reflects ongoing efforts of the Council of Europe to build regional resilience against complex financial crime schemes and support alignment with international standards on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, bolstering the capacities in the region to detect, investigate and disrupt complex financial crime networks. Moving forward, the Council of Europe will provide technical support in enhancing the investigation and prosecution of cross-border illicit financial flows for the law enforcement professionals from the EaP region.
This event is part of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the regional project on “Strengthening measures to prevent and combat economic crime in the Eastern Partnership region”.
