A workshop on “Co-operation between Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and Law Enforcement Agencies in fighting against money laundering and recovering illicit assets”, organised by the IMF Legal Department in collaboration with the Basel Institute of Governance (BIG) and the Istituto Superiore Internazionale di Scienze Criminali (ISISC), was held in Syracuse, Italy, during the period 4 – 8 October 2010.

The workshop brought together representatives from the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and included both representatives of FIUs and investigators/prosecutors from each country.

The main objective of the training workshop was to enhance the capacities of FIUs and key law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of international money laundering and corruption cases. It also focused on assisting participants recover the proceeds of crime, and enhancing co-operation between FIUs and law enforcement agencies.  Gathering intelligence and securing evidence abroad often provides the key to success in a complex investigation, bringing those involved in financial crime to book.  Therefore, the need for countries to co-operate with one another formed a crucial element of the training with the training format facilitating interaction and networking between the representatives of the various countries.

The centrepiece of the training programme was an extensive interactive practical exercise that simulated an actual corruption and money laundering investigation, and emphasised the collection and presentation of evidence for prosecution as well as the tracing and recovery of assets.  All formal lectures given during the training served as a basis for the practical exercise, e.g. the participants learnt how to create and maintain an inventory to keep track of and easily retrieve the documents they received during the investigation, or to utilise both formal and informal channels of communication in seeking international co-operation.