The Council of Europe through the Action on “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” in Central Asia (CA TAEC) organised a two-day training on “Financial investigations and interagency cooperation in combating economic crimes” in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 2-3 May 2024.
The training brought together 29 participants from Financial Intelligence Unit, General Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of Interior, Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, State Committee on National Security and Drug Control Agency and provided the participants with a comprehensive view of all phases of the financial investigation process, as well as the importance of interagency cooperation and the roles of all stakeholders involved.
The discussion was focused on the role of financial intelligence, the financial investigations operational phases, joint investigative teams and forensic methodology. Practical examples were illustrated through case studies and mock scenarios for participants and expert recommendations were provided for strengthening the current practices on interagency cooperation between FIU and law enforcement agencies in Tajikistan.
The participants have received very detailed information, training material and case studies to conduct financial investigations and they improved their understanding of the financial investigation as a process, and as a multi-stakeholder endeavour. In particular, the participants identified the need for coordination and coordination techniques for financial investigations; learned best practices in managing different phases of the financial investigation process; and became more aware of the processes of seizure and confiscation of illegal proceeds.
This activity was organised by the Action on “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” in the framework of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2024, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter. The Action is aimed at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan).