UNODC Supports Interagency Coordination to Advance Financial Investigations in Corruption Cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

16-17 December, Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) partnered with the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight Against Corruption (APIK) and the Asset Management Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) to facilitate a two-day workshop for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and other relevant stakeholders to come together to review current practices and experiences with financial investigations in corruption cases.

As part of the project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the workshop offered an opportunity to discuss and coordinate implementation of the newly adopted country-wide Anti-Corruption Strategy for the period from 2024-2028. Strengthening the criminal justice response to corruption is a core objective of this strategy.  

Based on this overarching policy framework, the workshop enabled practitioners from the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the FBiH Financial Police, canton level prosecution and other institutions to exchange experiences in collecting financial evidence necessary to prove cases in corruption investigations. Through cases studies and by looking at financial investigations from the perspective of each involved institution, participants gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in this area of work, which is crucial for the successful investigation and prosecution of corruption offences.

During the workshop, UNODC presented and disseminated its fast action response guide on asset recovery, which was recently launched in partnership with BiH authorities and includes procedural templates for use in financial investigations. Opportunities to engage in cross-border cooperation on corruption cases through the secure communications platform of the UNODC Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (the GlobE Network) were also discussed.

To follow up on the needs and next steps identified during the workshop, UNODC will continue to support capacity development and interagency coordination on financial investigations within the framework of a new technical assistance project to tackle corruption and organized crime, recently launched in Bosnia and Herzegovina with funding from AICS.

UNODC builds capacities on the criminal justice response to corruption as part of its regional platform for fast-tracking implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption in the Western Balkans, under the umbrella of UNODC’s Regional Program for South-Eastern Europe.