OSCE Programme Office continues to support live exercise to counter drug-related money laundering in Almaty

An OSCE-organized week-long simulation exercise on countering drug-related money laundering concluded on 13 December 2019 in Almaty. It took place at the Central Asian Regional Information and Co-ordination Centre for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors (CARICC).

Some 20 police officers, prosecutors, representatives of the Financial Monitoring Committee from Kazakhstan’s southern regions, along with representatives of a private entity, took part in the live-action training.

The simulation exercise was developed for law enforcement officers involved in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating cases related to the laundering of proceeds derived from illicit drug trafficking and trade. The participants studied the specificities of co-operating with private entities, whose online instruments are used by criminals to hide their illegal activities. Professional actors were involved in producing the video for participants to analyse. The actors portrayed members of a transnational criminal group, which organized illicit trafficking of drugs and their sale. International experts from Belarus and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, who participated in the development of the scenario for the exercise, monitored and evaluated the work of the participants throughout exercise.   

The simulation was organized in co-operation with the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Programme of the US Embassy in Nur-Sultan, the Law Enforcement Agencies Academy under the General Prosecutor’s Office and the CARICC.

The event is part of the Programme Office’s multi-year effort to promote good governance, combat money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as illicit trafficking and trade of drugs, including using online instruments.