At the invitation of the RA Investigative Committee and with support of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the framework of CyberEast+ project of the Council of Europe and of the European Union, Advisory mission with participation of EC experts, aimed at capacity building of the RA Investigative Committee, was organised on financial investigations, effective investigation in the sphere of digital currencies received as a result of online financial crimes, money laundering and other criminal activities, introduction of necessary mechanisms for it, getting acquained with the leading international experience.  

The heads of the appropriate departments of the Central Office of the RA Investiagtive Committee engaged in investigation of crimes with a component of financial circulation, a number of investigators of territorial subdivisions investigating crimes committed in high technology sphere participated in the meeting.

Arsen Ayvazyan, Deputy Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee made an opening speech. He thanked the experts for responding to the RA Investiagtive Committee’s invitiation and reaffirmed the Committee's commitment and interest in continuing high-level cooperation in the fight against cybercrime within the framework of the CyberEast+ project, as in the environment of continuous technological development challenges in the field of high technology will not have decreasing trends. Along with it technological solutions are also opportunities that can be used to increase the efficiency of the investigation and the detection of crimes.

In this regard, the capacity-building to respond to the challenges of the sphere remains very important for the countries of the region, including Armenia, in light of which increasing the effectiveness of parallel financial investigation, of investigations on online crime proceeds, financial fraud and money laundering remain among Armenia's priorities.

Robert Adilkhanyan, the Head of the Department of Investigation of Cybercrime and High Technology Crime of General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the RA Investiagtive Committee mentioned in his speech that in the world, in the course of investigation of financial crimes, a key issue is the detection, confiscation, prohibition of money, funds, and assets of criminal origin using high technologies. Various and innovative tools offered in the field of high technology are most often used in money laundering schemes. And without the necessary legal regulations, effective international cooperation, the use of modern search and analytical technologies and specialized investigators, it is not possible to fight effectively in that direction. According to R. Adilkhanyan, even in the case of convicting persons as a result of "traditional" investigation or declaring an international search, if the funds of criminal origin are not detected and prohabitted, the victims are not compensated, the damage caused to the state is not compansated, it is hard to speak about full effectiveness of investigation. The reason is that criminal proceeds in the shadows, subsequently serving criminal purposes, contribute to the committal of new crimes, generate new criminal capacities, provide favorable conditions and attractiveness for further criminal activity.

According to the analysis of one of the internationally renowned companies in the field, the overall circulation of crypto currencies in the Republic of Armenia in 2022 has made more than 9 billion USD, the significant part of which were criminal or risky transactions.

R. Adilkhanyan added that crypto currencies today are the main payment unit for illegal turnover of narcotic drugs through various Internet domains. And the funds stolen from citizens, financial facilities and electronic payment systems are exchanged into crypto currencies in order to conceal their movement.

In the modern world, criminal income is most often generated on digital platforms in the domain of high technology or on the territory of other states. And the methodology, knowledge, skills and experience of «traditional» investigation are not sufficient to conduct effective investigation in that direction. According to Adilkhanyan, the approach that any investigator is able to conduct an effective investigation in that direction after receiving relevant baseline data for financial investigation in his proceedings, is wrong.

During the meeting EC experts expressed their beleif that in order to conduct effective investigation for detection, freezing, confiscation, prohibition of funds, assets of criminal origin, obtained as a result of crime committals and transformed, embezzled, formed as a result of money laundering, located abroad, in the domain of virtual and crypto-currencies, investigators with a specific specialization to conduct a financial investigation, having and successfully applying the necessary technical tools, having access to the necessary international platforms are needed.  

The mentioned investigators must periodically and continuously impove their knowledge and capacities, have an opportunity to exchange experience with their international partners, take part in joint trainigs, be integrated in the international processes. The experts, based on the international experience, emphasized that in order to conduct effective investigation in the sphere of financial investigation, it is necessary to have a specialized subdivision for financial investigation the investigators of which will conduct parallel financial investigation.

At the end of the meeting the persons in charge of the Project expressed willingness to continue providing the RA Investigative Committee with necessary support in the direction of capacity-building of investigators in financial investigation, including in the direction of targeted trainings of specialized investigators,  creation of connections and experience exchange within the framework of international cooperation.