With the aim to provide the staff of the Secretariat of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption with a comprehensive understanding of anti-money laundering practices, to be used in their day-to-day work, a capacity building activity regarding the basics on combating money laundering was held on 26-27 September 2023 in Skopje.  This constitutes an important intervention in the process where the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption acts on reports with findings of money laundering where corruption appears as a predicate offence.

The anti-money laundering training, supported by EU and Council of Europe, is crucial because it equips the staff of the Secretariat of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption with the relevant knowledge and skills needed to effectively combat financial crimes, identify corruption-related financial patterns, and ensure legal compliance. It will support the State Commission to investigate corrupt individuals and legal entities related to the exercise of public powers, while also fostering public trust and collaboration with other stakeholders in the fight against corruption.

As part of the event important topics of interest were touched upon by the experts for the participants including the basics and insights of money laundering through sharing the roles of relevant organisations. During the meeting practical case studies connected to loan misuse in money laundering and corruption schemes by politically exposed persons were shared with the participants. The shared knowledge will contribute to a more efficient detection of money laundering cases.  

This activity was organised by ‘Action against economic crime in North Macedonia’, within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint Programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye (Horizontal Facility III), co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.