OSCE delivers training on cryptocurrencies and darknet for law enforcement officers in Tajikistan

From 16 to 20 October, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe provided an introductory training course on cryptocurrencies and darknet investigations at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Eighteen representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Office of the Prosecutor General took part in the course delivered by two international experts from Georgia and Ukraine.

The first part of the course introduced participants to concepts related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and enabled them to practice profiling, tracing, and seizing cryptocurrencies. In the second part of the course, participants learned about the functioning of the Tor network, which helps criminals avoid online detection, and the darknet. They also discussed features of the darknet criminal landscape and approaches to conducting searches and investigations on the darknet.

“The rapid growth of digital technologies in recent years has transformed the criminal landscape. Cryptocurrencies and the darknet are prime examples of this trend. Understanding essentials of how these technologies function and how they can facilitate criminal activities is increasingly important for law enforcement practitioners all around the world, including in Tajikistan,” said the Deputy Head of Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the course’s opening.

The course was delivered as part of the extra-budgetary project “Capacity Building on Combating Cybercrime in Central Asia”, funded by the United States, Germany and the Republic of Korea.

This was the second national training event in Tajikistan. The first training course on cybercrime and digital evidence took place in June for the same group of participants, with a third course planned for early 2024.