OSCE and UNODC launch a project to counter money laundering of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies

On October 20th 2022, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducted a two-day expert roundtable to launch a new extra-budgetary project on fighting money laundering activities carried out via virtual assets and cryptocurrencies. The event is part of the extra-budgetary project on “innovative policy solutions to mitigate money laundering risks of virtual assets” funded by the United States and Germany.

More than 20 experts and practitioners from relevant law enforcement and financial institutions of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine discussed issues related to the risks posed by the use of virtual assets for criminal purposes and circumvention of international sanctions regimes. Participants also shared and discussed the needs and priorities of participating agencies and project beneficiaries, as well as project essentials and upcoming capacity-building activities.

“Through this project, the OSCE, together with our partners from UNODC, aims to support national authorities of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in building capacities to counter threats posed by money laundering to national, regional, and worldwide security and stability, as well as foster international and inter-agency co-operation in this area,” said Ambassador Igli Hasani, Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.

“We are committed to continuing our work to support governments in preventing criminals from laundering their proceeds. UNODC and OSCE have already conducted several joint activities on countering online drug trade, money laundering and related crimes, and this new project is an excellent example of our continuous co-operation in this field”, said Alan Cole, Chief of Border Management Branch at UNODC.