Financial investigations represent a critical component of the fight against transnational organized crime, including trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants. As these offences are primarily profit-driven, the systematic identification, tracing, freezing, seizure, and confiscation of criminal proceeds and instrumentalities should be an integral part of investigations from the earliest stages.
To support Tajikistan’s efforts combatting trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, UNODC convened a three-day simulation training on parallel financial investigations, disruption of illicit financial flows, and asset confiscation and recovery in trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling cases from 7 to 9 July 2026 in Dushanbe. The workshop brought together 20 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and representatives of the Financial Monitoring Department of the National Bank of Tajikistan to strengthen national capacity to trace and confiscate criminal proceeds. The workshop is organized under the EU-funded initiative PROTECT (Improving Migration Management & Migrant Protection in Selected Silk Route Countries 2023-2026).
Over the three days, participants examined the financial dimensions of trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, as well as practical steps needed to trace, freeze, and recover criminal assets. UNODC Experts Mr. Andrei Ramanouski and Mr. Dulat Akkasov led the workshop by engaging the participants in elaborated simulations and discussions of international and national standards for financial investigations and trends in laundering the proceeds of trafficking, including the implementation of Financial Action Task Force recommendations; parallel and cross-border financial investigations based on the “follow the money” principle; the role of financial intelligence units and their cooperation with law enforcement; the use of IT technologies and virtual assets in trafficking, migrant smuggling and money laundering schemes.
The training workshop also covered the practical application of core investigative measures and international cooperation mechanisms to support parallel financial investigations. Participants examined the use of mutual legal assistance and informal asset recovery networks, including the Asset Recovery Interagency Network (ARIN), the Camden Assets Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN), and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. Throughout the workshop, they considered how to apply these mechanisms while respecting human rights and due process.
Ms. Isabel Uriz, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan, underlined the EU’s continued support to Tajikistan’s criminal justice response measures. “The European Union is pleased to support this training under the PROTECT, effectively implemented by UNODC since 2023, reflecting our broader commitment to strengthening migration governance and protecting the rights of migrants and trafficking victims across the region,” she said.
Mr. Maksudjon Duliyev, Head of the UNODC Programme Office in Tajikistan, highlighted why financial investigations stand at the centre of the fight against trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. “The money generated through exploitation moves is laundered, invested in legal assets, and disappeared from the sight of investigators. This is why financial investigation represents most effective way to uncover the trafficking scheme organizers” concluded Mr. Duliyev.
Participants worked in small facilitator-led groups as part of each thematic session paired with a relevant practical case exercise, to apply financial investigation techniques to scenarios prepared by UNODC experts. The course concluded with a post-training evaluation session and the presentation of certificates to participants.
The workshop was held under the umbrella of UNODC’s EU-funded initiative PROTECT: Improving Migration Management & Migrant Protection in Selected Silk Route Countries (2023-2026). UNODC is implementing the project within the framework of GLO.ACT across Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. This initiative is also helping Governments in addressing the challenges in the broader Central Asian region, including Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan, with a primary focus on enhancing the effectiveness of criminal justice responses to trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
For more information, please contact:
Martin Reeve: GLO.ACT Coordinator, Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, UNODC
Email: [email protected]
Source: www.unodc.org
