CEPOL Financial Investigation In-Service Training on Public Procurement Fraud and Money Laundering

CEPOL Financial Investigations In-Service Training on ‘Financial Investigations related to Public Procurement Fraud and Money Laundering’, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ninth tailor made regional training within the framework of the capacity building project Western Balkans Financial Investigation In-Service Training 2017-2019 (FI Project)^[1] implemented by CEPOL took place from 3 to 7 February in in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The training offered to 44 law enforcement officers from law enforcement organisations such as the police, Financial Investigation Units, customs, tax authorities, Prosecutor’s Offices and judiciary the opportunity to gain in depth understanding of financial investigation techniques and case studies related to public procurement fraud and money laundering. More specifically the following topics were explored:

• Detection and investigation of public procurement fraud
• Analysis of the impact of public procurement fraud in the EU and national budgets
• Health procurement fraud – case study
• Construction procurement fraud – case study
• Assets recovery and investigation system after sentence
• Detection and investigation of public procurement fraud; schemes and money laundering

The event hosted experts in the field from OLAF, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Poland and The Netherlands.

The objectives of the training were to enable participants to:

• Increase their skills for protection of the financial interests of the European Union against public procurement fraud;
• Enhance knowledge on the instruments and techniques in the fight against misuse of EU funds;
• Improve, update and share knowledge about detection and investigation techniques of money laundering;
• Use, create and/or enhance a network of practitioners from Law Enforcement institutions from the EU member states and the WB partners, to cooperate in fighting against criminal activities related to procurement fraud and money laundering.

^[1]The capacity-building project Western Balkans Financial Investigation In-Service Training 2017-2019 (FI Project) aims at developing and sustaining institutional capacity of the law enforcement agencies of the beneficiary countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo* and Serbia,) in order to prevent, investigate and prosecute transnational organised crime and financing terrorism. The FI Project is funded by the European Commission under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPAII) and it is an integral part of the second IISG Pillar (WBCSCi).

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.