OSCE supports third Annual General Meeting of Balkan Asset Management Interagency Network

The OSCE, together with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), supported the third Annual General Meeting of the Balkan Asset Management Interagency Network (BAMIN) held from 27 to 29 October 2021 in Tirana, Albania. This was the network’s first in-person meeting since 2019, convening 40 participants from asset management agencies of ten jurisdictions, representatives of the BAMIN Secretariat, the OSCE, GIZ and Europol, with 20 participants from six jurisdictions also participating online.

This year’s annual general meeting served as a platform for information exchange about specific cases related to asset management from the previous year.

Participants discussed challenges and best practices and had an opportunity to network with asset management agencies from different jurisdictions. During a field visit to Shkodra, they were introduced to an example of social re-use of confiscated assets: a mobile library built on a 4x4 SUV vehicle, which provides books to children living in remote villages.

Elena Pici, General Secretary and Head of the Inter-Institutional Committee on Measures against Organized Crime, opened the second day of the meeting by welcoming participants and stressing the BAMIN network’s role in fostering collaboration among jurisdictions. The welcoming remarks were followed by short presentations from representatives of asset management agencies, as well as keynote speakers from the U.S. Marshals Service from the United States Department of Justice, the Criminal Assets Bureau in Dublin, the National Police Chiefs’ Council in London, and Europol.

Denise Mazzolani, Head of the OSCE’s Strategic Police Matters Unit and the co-manager of the project support BAMIN, emphasized the importance of the BAMIN network and highlighted how it is continuously expanding and providing opportunities for further cooperation and information exchange among asset management agencies.

The OSCE supports BAMIN through its 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. This regional initiative is jointly implemented by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA). It is financially supported by the United States Department of State, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.