Between 24 and 26 March 2026, Tirana, Albania, hosted the nineth activity of the Western Balkans Working Group on Digital Assets Investigation, and the first one held under the leadership of the CyberSEE joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe.
The CyberSEE project showed its commitment to sustain this initiative and build on the progress achieved previously by the Working Group through the introduction of new members, making resources available, and the broader plan to integrate the Working Group into the project portfolio as an essential component of the CRYPTO PACK.
The strategic objective is to strengthen the Working Group’s capacities so it can conduct effective cryptocurrency investigations, promote international cooperation, and translate skills and knowledge into practical use, while using the dedicated CYBOX platform space to develop training and operational resources for the region and beyond.
The group’s founder, the National Crime Agency (NCA), formally handed over the management of the Working Group to the CyberSEE project, confirmed that licenses for TRM Labs and Chainalysis tools were renewed, and pledged continued industry support for intelligence, analysis, and case-related activities. The Working Group was assured that collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) will continue.
On this occasion, their experts led the training in Tirana on cryptocurrency tracing, money laundering patterns, seizure and asset management practices, evidence gathering, and inter-agency coordination.
This event brought together over 30 professionals from law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence units, and asset recovery offices, including members of the initial group from Albania, Kosovo*, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, as well as new participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The workshop equipped participants with skills to investigate cryptocurrency-enabled crimes effectively, covering money laundering typologies and tracing techniques. It combined technical foundations, blockchains, wallets, smart contracts, with hands-on exercises in wallet management, seizure procedures, and transaction analysis. Participants also learned to build evidential cases, apply legal mechanisms, manage seized assets, and present findings in court.
With this takeover, the CyberSEE project reaffirms its role as a key regional platform for cybercrime capacity building and its commitment to strengthening the capabilities of criminal justice authorities to investigate the illegal use of cryptocurrencies and cybercrime proceeds, building on the legacy of the iPROCEEDS and iPROCEEDS-2 projects and on the standards of the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention).
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
**the news item was translated by DeepL
CYBERKOP Action of the Octopus Project