Corruption: CEPOL actively contributes to the fight against this phenomenon via training
In order to maintain the rule of law, safeguard EU values and ensure the effectiveness of EU policies, the prevention and fight against corruption are essential. The new anti-corruption proposals of the European Commission earlier this month represent a milestone in the fight against corruption at national and EU level. On this important occasion, CEPOL reiterates its promise to continue supporting common efforts to fight this heinous crime within the scope of its mandate.
The latest CEPOL European Union Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) 2022-2025 (section 3.1.3. Corruption) identifies corruption as ‘a complex, multifaceted and multidimensional phenomenon ranging from low-level petty bribery to state capture, where organised crime groups infiltrate and conquer all or part of the state institutional system’. The EU-STNA underlines that although ‘corruption is recognised as one of the major challenges to democracy and the prosperity of citizens, training opportunities at national and international level remain insufficient’ and notes that ‘the highest priority in terms of training is financial investigation related to corruption cases. Training should focus on the recovery of state assets, corrupt payments in the financial system, cash-based corruption, offshore structures, and cryptocurrencies used for making payments to corrupt officials and for money laundering purposes’.
In accordance with the EU-STNA findings, CEPOL has been supporting the EU in its fight against corruption by offering specialised training opportunities and an in-depth understanding of relevant mechanisms and structures that operate within and beyond borders.
This week, CEPOL is delivering onsite activity 84/2023/ONS: Investigating and Preventing Corruption, in cooperation with the Center for Security Studies – KEMEA and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). The aim of this activity is to improve law enforcement capacity in the fight against corruption by exchanging knowledge and good practices on effective anti-corruption measures, targeting and detecting the forms, manifestations and main actors of corruption and using the international tools for prevention, investigation and prosecution.
Also, CEPOL offers various kinds of training products on criminal phenomena related to anti-corruption measures, in fields such as asset recovery, financial investigations, money laundering, electronic evidence or open-source intelligence. More specifically, on CEPOL’s Law Enforcement Education platform, LEEd, officials can find, among others, the following training opportunities:
Recorded Webinar 08/2021: Follow the money in crypto space
Recorded webinar 3022/2022/WEB: EPPO’s added value to cross-border money laundering and asset recovery investigations
