Kosovo
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Train-the-Trainer programme on financial investigations and asset recovery gets underway in Kosovo
Kosovan financial investigators, police, prosecutors and judges have completed the first phase of an intensive Train-the-Trainer TTT programme on financial investigations and asset recovery. Led by our International Centre for Asset Recovery ICAR training team in conjunction with UNDP and the Kosovo Judicial Academy, the five-phase TTT programme aims to result in four or five ICAR Certified Trainers while simultaneously training other local participants in the process. Following their certification, the Kosovan trainers will go on to deliver the training to their counterparts as a formal part of Kosovo’s judicial training programme. Supporting Kosovo’s anti-corruption efforts The five-day training workshop, which took place in Prizren, Kosovo from 16–20 May 2022, was part of the Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts in Kosovo SAEK III project of UNDP Kosovo. The Basel Institute is an implementing partner of the project, which seeks to reduce corruption in Kosovo by strengthening monitoring and oversight mechanisms of institutions to perform in an efficient, transparent, accountable and gender-sensitive manner. It is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC office in Kosovo and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA . The TTT programme is an integral part of our efforts to sustainably enhance the capacity of investigators and prosecutors in Kosovo to successfully investigate and prosecute corruption and money laundering cases, and recover assets. It follows a February 2020 training programme on the same topic, in which the 25 participants were specifically challenged to make use of Kosovo’s recent Law of Extended Powers on Confiscation of Assets. Why financial investigations training? A financial investigation is an important tool in detecting money laundering, terrorist financing and other serious crimes, as well as in enabling the freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of crime. Financial investigation in complex corruption and money laundering cases requires specialist skills and techniques in intelligence gathering, prosecution strategies and asset tracing, among others. Of these techniques, one of the judges at the May 2022 training was particularly complimentary about Source and Application analysis, a method to organise and present financial evidence gathered during an investigation in a way that highlights or identifies illicit or unknown income. Putting such skills and techniques into practice requires a thorough knowledge of relevant Kosovan legislation, and a deep understanding of the legal and practical processes and procedures for recovering assets abroad. To tie these elements together, the centrepiece of the ICAR training programme is an extensive hands-on practical exercise in which the participants actually conduct a Kosovo-specific simulated investigation. Learn more Find out about our ICAR training team and unique methodology, and download the current brochure in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Learn more about the Basel Institute’s cooperation with the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Kosovo under the SAEK programme. For a brief introduction to Source and Application analysis, see this Quick guide to analysing a suspect’s financial affairs in a corruption case. More in-depth guidance is in the step-by-step Guide to proving illicit enrichment using financial investigation and Source and Application of Funds analysis and our self-paced eLearning course on Source and Application of Funds analysis, available in English and Ukrainian.
New cooperation with Kosovo’s Office of the Chief Prosecutor on asset recovery, with UNDP support
The Basel Institute on Governance is delighted to have signed today a cooperation agreement with the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Kosovo. This agreement lays the foundation for supporting Kosovo in the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences and recovering stolen assets. We enter into this new agreement in the context of our partnership with the United Nations Development Programme UNDP which leads the implementation of the Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts in Kosovo Project SAEK III . Establishing an effective system for the repatriation of stolen assets is the third component of UNDP’s SAEK III programme, which aims to reduce the level of corruption in Kosovo. As highlighted by Chief Prosecutor Lumezi, the expectation is that through this partnership, we can jointly “increase the efficiency and performance of the prosecutorial system to recover stolen assets”. To this end, the programme of work will consist of mentoring prosecutors and assisting them with using novel investigative and legal tools to trace and recover stolen assets. It will also include the development of a specialised training curriculum on financial investigation, international cooperation and asset recovery jointly with Kosovo’s Academy of Justice. The recovery of stolen assets, if they are used for the benefit of the people of Kosovo, is an important driver for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet asset recovery is a highly complex and therefore slow process. Basel Institute Managing Director Gretta Fenner today reiterated the importance of realistic expectations. She also stressed that the benefits of asset recovery are not just in returning “hard” assets in the form of money. Equally important are the so-called “soft assets” that can be generated through asset recovery, and which come in the form of more trust in government, stronger rule of law, and reduced impunity for criminals. Funding of the SAEK programme by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Office in Kosovo and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA is gratefully acknowledged. More information UNDP press statement Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Kosovo press statement Working Paper 29: Recovery assets in support of the SDGs: from hard to soft assets for development, Basel Institute on Governance About the International Centre for Asset Recovery – frequently asked questions
Kosovan anti-corruption officials explore new asset confiscation law during ICAR training workshop
An intensive Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery training programme by our International Centre for Asset Recovery ICAR training team in Kosovo last week had a novel twist: the participants had the opportunity to discuss and explore ways to use the country’s new Law of Extended Powers on Confiscation of Assets. The United Nations Development Programme UNDP in Kosovo requested ICAR to deliver the five-day training programme as part of the country’s largest anti-corruption project, which is funded by the Swiss Development and Co-operation Agency SDC . The project focuses extensively on financial investigations. Kosovo’s new Law of Extended Powers on Confiscation of Assets In addition to the practical simulated investigation which forms the centrepiece of all ICAR training workshops, participants had an extra challenge: to explore and make use of the provisions of Kosovo’s new Law of Extended Powers on Confiscation of Assets No. 06/L-087 of 26 December 2018. This innovative law is in keeping with the latest European legislation that tackles the issue of the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime. In brief, the extended confiscation applies to the assets of persons who have been convicted of a criminal offence, including those involving official corruption, related to official duty or generating a material benefit of more than EUR 10,000. There are exceptions where a conviction has not been obtained because the individual has died. After a defendant is found guilty of a criminal offence as provided for this Law, the State Prosecutor may request a verification of property acquired by the defendant within 10 years prior to the start of the investigation. About the workshop The workshop took place between 10–14 February in Pristina, Kosovo, drawing on an initial scoping mission held in May 2019. As with other national and regional ICAR training programmes, the 20 participants came from a variety of law enforcement agencies: they included prosecutors, anti-corruption investigators, representatives of the Financial Intelligence Unit, police officers from the Police Directorate for the Investigation of Economic Crimes and Corruption, tax administration employees and customs officials. This variety has proven to be immensely valuable in furthering inter-agency understanding and collaboration – something that will be especially important to Kosovan officials implementing the new asset confiscation law on the ground.