UNODC conducted the advanced training on countering drug crimes on the Internet for Interagency Mobile Team officers in Uzbekistan

From 29 November through 4 December, UNODC organized the training course on countering drug crimes on the Internet for the Interagency Mobile Team officers in Uzbekistan. The training was conducted in the city of Samarkand gathering law enforcement officers from Tashkent city, 12 regions of Uzbekistan and Republic of Karakalpakstan.  

57 law enforcement officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Customs Committee as well as representatives from the General Prosecutors Office and National Information-Analytical Center on Drug Control under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan attended the training course to enhance their knowledge on the global trends in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in the era of financial system transformation with the development of the virtual assets market.

“The possibility of confidential circulation of crypto-assets without the participation of intermediaries directly between the settlements parties requires a revision of the AML/CFT procedures in compliance with the UN conventions. The integration of countries into the international financial system is getting worse every year and the financial and economic development of the state depends on the effectiveness of this process” said Mr. Yusuf Kurbonov, UNODC International Programme Coordinator in his welcome speech.

The training course provided information on the global trends in anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) procedures, which should be implemented in national legislation and AML/CFT procedures in accordance with the updated international FATF standards.    

Furthermore, participants were provided with the basics of a risk-based approach to AML/CFT in the virtual asset market, with an overview of the updated international FATF documents, the principles of taxation of crypto-asset transactions applied in different countries, primarily in developed economies. The training course included practical blockchain exercises using analytical programs such as Chainalysis, Crystal, AML-bot, Global Ledger to track “dirty” cryptocurrencies to source and destination.

The training course was delivered by two experts: Ms. Tatyana Dmitrenko, Head of the Section of International Finance and Financial Security of the Department of Global Economy and International Finance, Scientific Research Finance Institute "Academy of Financial Management" under the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, AML Advisor to the Blockchain Association of Ukraine; as well as Mr. Alexandru Donciu, Expert in countering money laundering and illicit trafficking of goods, OSINT investigations and digital forensics in Moldova.

The feedback received from the participants at the end of the training was very positive. They acknowledged that all topics covered and discussed during the training were crucial and relevant, especially considering the increase in drugs trafficking through modern online platforms, including Darknet and social media. 

The training course was organized within the project “Countering trafficking of Afghan narcotics and synthetic drugs in Uzbekistan through the establishment of Interagency Mobile Teams (IMT)” of the Sub-programme 1 “Countering transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking and preventing terrorism” of the UNODC Programme for Central Asia and funded by the Government of Japan.