Graphics: IRZ
Graphics: IRZ
Kosovo

As part of an online seminar hosted by the Kosovan Academy of Justice, IRZ organised an expert discussion on the fight against money laundering on 2 June 2021. The German-Kosovan exchange of experiences took place on the second day of the event with the participation of around 25 Kosovan judges and public prosecutors.

In the context of financial liberalisation and growing transnational crime, the fight against money laundering has cross-border significance. Dealing effectively with money laundering on a global scale also requires an intensive and continuous exchange of expertise between legal practitioners.

In this context, the event continued the exchange of experiences on the fight against money laundering, which had begun in 2020 in cooperation with the Kosovan Academy of Justice. Senior Public Prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert and Public Prosecutor Christian Müller, both from the Wuppertal Public Prosecutor's Office, took part in the discussion as IRZ experts. In particular, they presented the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, which came into force in March 2021 to regulate money laundering offences in Germany. The event also focussed on the following topics:

  • acquisition offences and types of money laundering crimes
  • the tracing of defrauded assets
  • the return of incriminated assets / confiscation orders
  • mutual legal assistance and international cooperation in money laundering investigations

The Kosovan participants in the discussions were Valon Kurtaj, a judge at the Court of First Instance in Pristina, and Behar Xhema, deputy director of the Kosovan Financial Intelligence Unit, leading to a lively legal comparison and mutual exchange of expertise and experience.

The event was financed by the German Foreign Office. IRZ plans to continue its cooperation with the Academy of Justice in this area and to cover further important subjects in the area of criminal law and the prison system.