Congratulations to the five Moldovan practitioners who are now certified to conduct training in financial investigations and asset recovery using the case-based training methodology of the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).

They received their trainer certificates at the end of a 10-month Train-the-Trainer programme run by ICAR with Moldova’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The final workshop took place in Chisinau on 14–18 September 2026. Over five workshops since December 2025, the programme also trained 106 judges, prosecutors, investigators and other practitioners.

The programme responded to a request from Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, for support in building skills across the country’s asset recovery chain, from financial investigation to international cooperation and confiscation. It forms part of the CRESTA asset recovery assistance project, which ICAR implements with financial support from the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova. In addition to training, this includes hands-on support with live cases and legislative reform.

We congratulate the new trainers and all participants, and thank the NIJ and other government partners for the fruitful collaboration.

The new trainers

The five certified trainers work at the heart of Moldova’s efforts to recover criminal assets. One is a Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office. Two lead or work in criminal investigation teams at the State Fiscal Service’s anti-fraud directorate. The other two are at the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency.

One of them, Pavel Calpajiu, heads the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency’s department for valuing and managing seized assets. During the programme he gave a session on parallel financial investigations, which means following the money from the very start of a case. This approach was emphasised throughout the whole training.

The five – three women, two men – are now ready to train their colleagues on their own.

Why train trainers?

Training local trainers means the skills remain in Moldova long after the programme ends. With the NIJ’s support, the new trainers can keep transferring what they have learned to new groups of practitioners.

People also learn better from their peers. The new trainers know Moldova’s laws and institutions, and they work on the same kinds of cases as the people they teach. Their examples come from real experience.

Teaching benefits the trainers too. Practitioners who train others often try out new approaches in their own cases and bring those lessons back into the classroom. Over time, this helps investigators and prosecutors across the country find more effective ways to trace and recover criminal assets.

Learning by doing

ICAR’s methodology is built around a realistic case that participants investigate in small groups, from the first suspicion to the recovery of assets. One participant said:

The investigation we conducted was extremely interesting and instructive, providing me with a clear understanding of how a real process unfolds.

Another remarked:

I gained new knowledge and skills that I will apply in my prosecution and judicial trainer daily work and future practice.

Another participant found that the group work was central to the course, as it:

enhances teamwork and the exchange of experiences among group members from different fields, which ultimately facilitates [learning].

Participants came from more than 10 institutions, including the courts, prosecution offices, the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency, the National Anti-Corruption Centre, the National Integrity Authority, the State Fiscal Service, the Customs Service, the police and the Office for the Prevention and Control of Money Laundering.

ICAR-led learning

Our ICAR training team has expanded its training offer to meet the varied needs of practitioners everywhere.

If you’re not a government agency, check out the free eLearning courses on Basel LEARN, or secure your spot on ICAR’s four-day online course on asset recovery that is open to individuals including journalists and civil society.

For a deeper dive into the theory and practice of investigations and asset recovery, there’s still time to enrol on our academic programme with the University of Basel, Combating financial crime through asset recovery.