EUROL 3 organized a three-day training on the fight against organized criminal groups, mafia organizations, and terrorism financing, as well as asset recovery and financial investigations. The training was conducted on 19-21 September by international expert Marco Letizi and dedicated to the officers of the Department for Fighting Economic Crime, Corruption and Conducting financial Investigations of the Police Administration of Montenegro.
The trainees were familiarized with differences and similarities between organized criminal groups, mafia-type organizations and terrorist organizations, their methods of infiltration in the legal economy, the international legal framework on TF and FATF recommendations, as well as differences and similarities between money laundering and terrorism financing.
The international expert presented financial investigations and permanent confiscation of property benefits through legislative framework and court practice, particularly the “follow the money methodology” as the economic and financial approach to investigate and prosecute serious crime.
In the field of Asset Recovery, the weaknesses and potential of the system and the interrelations between asset recovery and asset management have been presented, with emphasis on inter-agency cooperation. The crucial role of financial investigations in the asset recovery system has been underlined and conviction-based and non-conviction-based confiscation procedures explained.
This training was a part of the engagement of international expert Marco Letizi for supporting the Economic Crime Unit and the Special Police Department. The aim of this engagement is the identification of training needs and knowledge deficiencies in financial investigation, as well as the provision of both theoretical and practical training and peer guidance to the Economic Crime Unit and the Special Police Unit of the Police Department of Montenegro in the area of financial investigations, and the development and delivery of a roadmap outlining the identified gaps in financial investigation capabilities and capacities and providing specific recommendations for sustainably closing the identified gaps.
