Between 2 and 4 December 2019, six representatives of the Moldovan Asset Recovery Office attended a study visit to the Belgian Central Office for Seizure and Confiscation (COSC) in Brussels and to the EUROPOL in the Hague. The agenda of the study visit included exchange of experiences concerning the role and composition of the Belgian COSC, prerogatives to ensure the recovery and management of criminal assets, international cooperation through the use of Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) platform as well as practices and challenges regarding seizure of electronic currencies and recovery of assets from foreign jurisdictions. The meetings at EUROPOL included discussions on the connectivity to SIENA platform and configuration options for the Republic of Moldova. The meetings with the EUROPOL’s Criminal Assets Bureau and Moldova Liaison Bureau facilitated the implementation of technical requirements for the final connection and use of SIENA platform by the Moldovan Asset Recovery Office.

The study visit was organised within the joint European Union and Council of Europe Project on “Controlling corruption through law enforcement and prevention” (CLEP), implemented in the Republic of Moldova since 2017.