Series of anti-corruption seminars ends in Ukraine

KYIV, 17 May 2002 - The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine held the fifth anti-corruption seminar on "Strategies in the Fight against Corruption and Strategies of Preventing Corruption" on 14 and 15 May 2002 in Kyiv.

This is the last of a series of five regional seminars planned within the framework of co-operation between the country's Public Prosecutor General and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator. Each seminar was attended by representatives of the Prosecutor's offices, state tax administration investigation units, special security services and militia divisions specializing on the fight against corruption.

Foreign experts, including the Public Prosecutor from Milan, Italy, an anti-corruption expert from the Teeside Business School in the United Kingdom, the Prosecutor from Florida/ Miami and the director of the Special Investigation Service in Lithuania, presented their Ukrainian counterparts with information on anti-corruption strategies in their home-countries, witness protection programs and other relevant information.

Recommendations of amendments in the Ukrainian legislation for improving the fight against corruption and organized crime were discussed and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine agreed to assist the General Prosecutor Office in providing prosecutors with up-to-date knowledge and international experience in this field. A trip to Italy in autumn 2002 is currently planned for this purpose.