Criminal networks operating in the Balkan region are crucial in the trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe and elsewhere. Some of these groups are also involved in extreme violence, professional kidnappings, executions, corruption, money laundering and other serious crimes, highlighting the challenges faced by law enforcement and the judiciary.

In response to this, and through the European project Support to serbia in the area of justice, freedom and security, special task forces have been set up to detect and prosecute specific criminal offences.

Workshop on money laundering

The project has supported the members of the new permanent Task Force by enhancing their professional and technical skills. Therefore, a high-level tailor-made workshop was carried out on techniques to prosecute money laundering. The training covered, among other topics, the criteria and methodology for prioritizing money laundering, and the key role of financial investigation methodology with the aim of detecting and prosecuting complex organised criminal groups. Several practical cases were presented and discussed, analysing how to conduct financial investigations of corruption criminal offenses with a focus on public officials. The activity provided a valuable opportunity for technical debate, facilitating the exchange of technical opinions among practitioners, and designing the way forward to enhance the efficient performance of the new permanent task force. 

The workshop was held in coordination with the Serbian Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime, and was attended by several international experts, including Jorge Andujar Hernández, Senior Public Prosecutor from the Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organised Crime, Maria Eugenia Hernández Fernández, Senior Public Prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Madrid, and Alessandro Pulcri, Lieutenant Colonel Carabinieri from the Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale (ROS).