South-Eastern Europe officials trained on Advanced Money or Value Transfer System, Hawala and Other Similar Service Providers

31 October-4 November 2022, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized a five-day training on Advanced Money or Value Transfer System (MVTS) and Hawala and Other Similar Service Providers (HOSSP) for 20 officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as eight experts from Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia.

The course aimed to enhance the capacity of competent authorities to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and strengthen compliance with international standards in this area, in particular, UN Security Council Resolutions, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) standards, UN norms, and commitments to promote human rights-based approaches in countering the financing of terrorism.

An online presentation was given by a real-life Hawaladar operating in Europe where he described the way the Hawala system works, its structure and business model. The training course was delivered by two UNODC experts in AML/CFT, Hawala, MVTS and HOSSP as well as the UNODC Serious and Organized Crime Advisor in South-Eastern Europe who outlined the modus operandi of organized crime groups both worldwide and in the Western Balkan region and their linkage with the terrorist groups/money launderers and migrant smugglers.

The training was implemented with the financial support of France and Norway.