PROJECT TITLE: OLAF - Fight against Money Laundering in the Balkan region: Cooperation between the Administrative Authorities of the EU Member States and the Non Member States
COUNTRIES: Balkan countries
OVERALL OBJECTIVE: To protect the financial interests of the European Union, to fight fraud, corruption and all other illegal activities, even within the European Institutions themselves, and to provide a quality service to the European citizens.
ACTIVITIES:
The project consisted of a conference aiming at the enhancement of the exchange of information, ideas and suggestions concerning the improvement of mechanisms for cooperation and mutual assistance between national authorities in the field of money laundering. The audience included nationals from Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, FYROM, Greece, Italy, Romania, Turkey and United Kingdom. Guests and speakers of the Conference included members of the Anti-Fraud Office of the European Commission (OLAF),official representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, Europol and both European and Balkan Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) civil servants from Ministries of Justice, Finance, Interior, Customs Office, Court of Audit the Police, Parliamentarians, as well as academics, jurists and students involved in the study of anti-corruption strategies, representatives of the financial private sector and other officers from national authorities.
The organization of this conference intended to, in the short term, present to interested parties a global perspective of financial criminal activity in the Balkan region. In particular, the themes that were analyzed included laundering of revenues obtained from illegal activities, as well as the latest developments in the European legislation concerning coordination between member states and non-member states on anti-laundering efforts.
In the medium term, the organization of the Conference aimed at the enhancement of the collaboration between national experts and the authorities in the fight against economic fraud through the suggestion of solutions aiming at the improvement and reinforcement of the cooperation between the administrative authorities of the involved countries. In the long term, the organization of the conference intended to promote the establishment of agreements between the Balkan States with regard to the distribution of the misappropriated amounts.
FUNDING AGENCY: European Commission
LEADER: EPLO
TIME FRAME: 2004-2005
