UNODC Builds Capacity of Investigators and Prosecutors from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on Mutual Legal Assistance and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Cross-Border Cybercrime Cases

On 5-6 March 2020, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) partnered with the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to conduct a training on Mutual Legal Assistance and Obtaining Electronic Evidence during Cross-Border Cybercrime Investigations.

24 Criminal justice practitioners from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as representatives of the Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Tashkent State Law University participated in the training.

«It is important to build the capacity of our investigators and prosecutors and introduce new tools to investigate cybercrime bring perpetrators to justice, compensate for damage and stop further illicit financial flows and criminal activity online. Thanks to the support from the organizers of this event and donors, today we have the opportunity to learn from experienced prosecutors and cybercrime experts from Romania, Portugal and India.» - noted Mr. Uygun Nigmadjanov, Deputy Director of the Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The training provided an opportunity to discuss and learn about basic concepts of cybersecurity and related standards, such as the Council of Europe’s Budapest Convention on Cybercrime; main criminal activities committed with the use of ICT, such as fraud, hacking and terrorism related activities; law enforcement responses, including through the creation of specialized departments to investigate cybercrime; tracing  cryptocurrencies and recovering evidence from blockchain, computers, phones and suspects.

UNODC also presented its Practical Guide for Requesting Electronic Evidence Across Borders, which was published together with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) in 2019.

«The exponential growth of information systems has turned cybercrime into one of the fastest growing crime types. The internet and associated technologies have created a whole new platform and instruments for criminals around the world, erasing boundaries and making traditional methods used by law enforcement obsolete. This phenomenon also affects the Central Asian countries » - said Mr. Koen Marquering, UNODC Program Coordinator. «The UNODC Practical Guide builds understanding of criminal, privacy and human rights law; data protection policies; major communication service providers' relevant procedures, legal frameworks and practical requirements for informal (police-to-police) and formal mutual legal assistance cooperation. »

The training was organized within the framework of the Network of Prosecutors and Central Authorities from Source, Transit and Destination Countries to Combat Transnational Organized Crime in Central Asia and Southern Caucasus (CASC) Initiative. The Initiative is funded by INL and aimed at strengthening inter-regional cooperation to combat transnational organized and serious crime by facilitating contacts between competent authorities for international judicial cooperation from countries of Central Asia and Southern Caucasus with countries outside the region and by promoting coordination with other judicial cooperation networks.

For more information:

UNODC ROCA on Twitter

UNODC in Central Asia on Facebook