From 12 to 14 November, prosecutors and investigators of the Asset Recovery Committee of Kazakhstan (ARC) participated in an event on open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques and tools to counter illicit financial activity associated to corruption and organized crime. Participants learned, among others, how publicly available data can be leveraged to trace the ownership and location of assets and how this evidence can be used in subsequent criminal proceedings. 

This event was designed to help strengthen the skills of staff from the Asset Recovery Committee, a relatively new agency, in using investigative tools and techniques. The event was also an opportunity for the ARC to share its expertise with the OSCE and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as to strengthen asset recovery efforts in the OSCE region.

In their welcoming remarks, the Rector of the Law Enforcement Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan and the Deputy Chairman of the ARC emphasized the significance of such exchanges in strengthening Kazakhstan’s asset recovery efforts and fostering regional co-operation.

The activity, which took place at the Law Enforcement Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office, was implemented with support from the OSCE’s regional project “Strengthening Asset Recovery Efforts in the OSCE region”, implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the Transnational Threats Department. This project is funded by Austria, Germany, Italy and the United States of America. It drew from related experiences in the Western Balkans, and was conducted in partnership with the UNODC.