19/10/2021
Latin America and Europe discuss the problem of cryptocurrencies, cybercrime and money laundering in a workshop for police and prosecutor networks
The Ecuadorian capital, Quito, hosted representatives from 16 Latin American countries in a workshop on money laundering and cybercrime with the aim of jointly addressing the problem of cryptocurrencies . This workshop aimed to raise awareness, input experience and possibly tools to tackle the criminal use of cryptocurrencies, as well as identify the work priorities for each of the networks.
The European project, EL PAcCTO , has organised this training in an attempt to establish a space for dialogue and collaborative work between the different networks to identify specific cases and start work on a multilateral basis between several of the countries concerned.
In addition, the session opened a forum on the mainstreaming of the fight against cybercrime and money laundering in investigations related to Transborder Organised Crime (CTO). In addition, cooperation is expected with the networks of prosecutors specialised in both issues, the CiberRed and the AIAMP Anti-Money Laundering Working Group.
One of the main challenges to be addressed is
civil society’s lack of knowledge in everything related to cryptocurrencies. From the police perspective, they face a lack of experience in investigative techniques or software for the tracking of cybercrimes.
For their part, prosecutors also face problems in the investigation and prosecution of these crimes, from those related to their detection, which requires being able to establish measures for the preservation of evidence, to conflicts of jurisdiction.
For this reason, these joint work sessions between different Latin American and European countries allow the exchange of experiences on how to make police cooperation networks operational in matters of cybercrime and money laundering and thus be able to improve efficiency in the fight against these criminal phenomena.
EL PAcCTO is a project funded by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP and Expertise France, with the support of the IILA and the Instituto Camões, which aims to intensify the fight against organised crime in the region.
