The Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division organised a three-day Training of Trainers on money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) financial investigations, in Bucharest, Romania, from 13 to 15 December 2022. The event was organised based on the gaps and needs identified in the ML/TF National Risk Assessment of Romania, and subsequent request by national authorities.
Dedicated capacity for conducting financial investigations has proved to be a determining factor for the effectiveness of the fight against economic crime at national and global level. Among other advantages, financial investigations enable countries to target economic crime and the proceeds of crime, by identifying perpetrators and their associates, organised criminality and the extent and structure of organised crime groups, identifying the ownership and use of property, gathering direct and indirect evidence for proceeds of crime.
Following up on the training on financial investigations of money laundering cases previously conducted for Romanian law enforcement agencies, the Training of Trainers (ToT) on financial investigations aimed at enhancing the skills of 16 Romanian practitioners from the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering (the Romanian Financial Intelligence Unit – FIU), the Romanian Police and General Prosecutor’s Office on financial investigations, as well as enable them to train other staff of their respective agencies in this area. The ToT covered topics of key relevance to financial investigations in Romania, focusing mostly on money laundering cases, and provided practical guidance for use by Romanian investigators and prosecutors. It followed an interactive approach including guided discussions and scenario-based group exercises. Each thematic session of the training also included dedicated time for advice and discussion on the training method to be used by future trainers in this area.
In addition, the event provided an opportunity to test the Manual for conducting financial investigations in Romania which is under development by the project, following the request from Romanian law enforcement agencies for such guidance. In this regard, the ToT also allowed Council of Europe experts to obtain a better understanding of the national legislative framework and existing practices, in order to make the Manual as tailored as possible to the specific context of Romania. The Manual for conducting financial investigations in Romania will be delivered to Romanian competent authorities at the end of December 2022.
The event was organised within the framework of the Structural Reform Support Programme initiative “Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Compliance: Implementing a National Mechanism to Assess and Manage Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risks in Romania”, funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.