Within the framework of CyberEast+project of the Council of Europe and of the European Union, and within the initiative of joint capacity building in Eastern Partnership Region, with support of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on October 2 a three-day course titled "Financial Investigation, Virtual Currencies and Darknet" was launched in Yerevan.

The course was organized as continuation of Advisory mission-meeting with participation of European experts, held in May, 2024, by the RA Investigative Committee with support of CyberEast+project, aimed at capacity building of the Committee.

The course, in which heads of appropriate departments of the Central Office of the RA Investigative Committee, more than two dozen investigators of the RA central and territorial subdivisions, engaged in investigation of crimes with a component of financial circulation, as well as crimes committed in high technology sphere, is aimed at handling of virtual currencies and darknet in the framework of the investigation of financial crimes and money laundering proceedings, capacity building of investigators in conduction of parallel investigation of financial crimes and cybercrimes, strengthening the practice of tracking financial movements during the preliminary investigation.

Arsen Ayvazyan, Deputy Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee has made an opening speech. He thanked the European experts for continuing the cooperation with the RA IC and within CyberEast+project supporting the Investigative Committee’s policy to develop its human resources in the fight against cybercrime, taking into consideration that developing capabilities to effectively respond to cybercrime and electronic evidence challenges continues to remain a priority.

The course is highlighted by the fact that high-tech renewable tools are used in money laundering schemes, which forces not only to change legal regulations, to expand and deepen international cooperation, but also to empower investigators investigating financial crimes and cybercrime with the ability to use modern investigative and analytical technologies. And in general, the conviction that during the investigation of financial crimes, the detection, confiscation and prohibition of money, funds, and assets of criminal origin by using technology, becomes pivotal, is gradually strengthened. The reason is if the funds of criminal origin are not removed from circulation, the damages caused to the victims and the state are not compensated, and the criminal incomes in the shadows further serve criminal purposes, generate new criminal capabilities.