Назад Training on financial investigation for Georgian law enforcement

Training on financial investigation for Georgian law enforcement

The Council of Europe in cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia organised a two-day training on “Financial investigation of money laundering/financing of terrorism cases”.

The activity was delivered in “hybrid” format with the online involvement of international Council of Europe experts and on-site participation of members of the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Security Service of Georgia, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Monitoring Service.

The activity intended to familiarise Georgian investigators and prosecutors with the diverse and innovative investigation methods currently used internationally in financial investigation. Participants benefited from interactive presentations and discussions about the role of financial investigation in law enforcement, its characteristics in money laundering and terrorism financing cases, the use of open source intelligence or covert human intelligence, virtual currencies, and new technologies. An important part of the training was also dedicated to the mechanisms of mutual legal assistance and to recommendations on maximising success in their implementation. In addition to the analysis of relevant international standards and best practices, useful online materials and references were provided that will assist Georgian investigators and prosecutors in conducting financial investigation of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (ML/FT) cases in the future.

Focusing on the main challenges encountered in the application of various techniques, this activity aimed at supporting the Georgian authorities to improve their financial investigation practices, which was defined as a priority area in the ML/TF Risk Assessment of Georgia (NRA 2019). Its significance is also underlined in the 2017-2021 Action Plan of the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia according to which necessary measures need to be taken to improve parallel financial investigation practices. At the same time, the training is an important step to comply with the recommendation of the MONEYVAL 5th Round Evaluation Report of Georgia (2020) referring to the improvement of the effectiveness of financial investigations in Georgia.

The event was carried out with full respect of Georgian Government’s Covid-19 pandemic regulations as well as those established by the Council of Europe.

This activity was organised within the framework of the project “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia” financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe, implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II Programme.

Georgia 27-28 April 2021
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Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
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Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

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