OSCE-supported training course on financial investigations in money laundering cases concludes in Podgorica
The OSCE Mission to Montenegro supported a customized two-day workshop on conducting financial investigations in money laundering cases from 21 to 22 June 2017 in Podgorica.
Some 15 prosecutors and advisors from the Offices of the Special Prosecutor, the High Prosecutor, the Basic Prosecution, and the Special Police Unit, exchanged opinions, experiences and best practices related to the process of financial investigations.
The training course was case-based and participants had the opportunity to actively work on concrete cases of financial investigations. They learned about how to follow traces, what constitutes relevant data and which international sources can be used in conducting such investigations.
The Head of the OSCE Mission Maryse Daviet, underlined the Mission’s long-term partnership with Montenegro in the fight against corruption. “Given the increasing risk of penetration of the licit economy by serious and organized crime, financial investigations are an essential tool of a modern and effective response to criminal threats including terrorism financing.”
Special State Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic stressed the importance of financial investigations as they provide the grounds for the permanent confiscation of assets achieved through criminal activities. “Since the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, great efforts have been made in ensuring good conditions for the successful prosecution of cases of corruption and organized crime. I hope that we will continue to receive support from our international partners in this area, since expert knowledge of prosecutors is still not at an appropriate level when it comes to complex cases.”
The workshop was organized in co-operation with the Judicial Training Centre and the office of GIZ (the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation), which is implementing the Prosecution Network of the Western Balkans Project.