OSCE holds online training on international co-operation and mutual legal assistance in asset recovery for criminal justice practitioners in Albania

An OSCE-organized three-day online training on international co-operation and mutual legal assistance in asset recovery for beneficiaries in Albania concluded on 7 January 2021.

The Office of the Coordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and the Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) co-organized the training, which is part of a series of national trainings that are scheduled for early 2021 in South-Eastern Europe. The aim is to strengthen the skills of criminal justice specialists in requesting and providing relevant information to enable successful international co-operation in transnational asset recovery cases, in particular related to asset tracing, freezing, confiscation and repatriation. The training also focused on international exchanges of intelligence and evidence.

During the workshop, ten criminal justice practitioners from Albania examined how they may use the tools and legislation of other jurisdictions, both in the region and elsewhere, to either assist in convictions and subsequent confiscation of assets or in the seizure and repatriation of assets by another method in the absence of a conviction.

The interactive training, delivered by international experts, involved engagement in simulated investigations and practical case studies. The objective of using specialized immersion in practical cases is to allow the beneficiaries to apply the theory and practitioner skills taught in a simulated investigation.

The online workshop was organized in the framework of the OSCE extra budgetary project “Strengthening the fight against transnational organized crime in South-Eastern Europe through improved regional co-operation in asset seizure, confiscation, management and re-use” financially supported by the United States Department of State, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.