OSCE continues training operative officers of Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia

A second specialized training on operative essentials for anti-corruption officers was held in Yerevan from 25 to 28 October 2022. The training, which focused on the effective investigation of corruption, was hosted by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) with the support of the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia (ACC).

The training of 40 ACC operative officers focused on further deepening their knowledge and skills on issues such as assessment and detection of corruption risks in specific sectors, conflicts of interest and asset declarations, electoral bribery, financial investigations and large-scale money laundering investigations, inter-agency cooperation and the use of operational technical means during operational-intelligence measures.

“The Armenian Anti-Corruption Committee is determined to constantly enhance the skills and operational effectiveness of our staff.  We appreciate the support of the OSCE and remain confident that this training will contribute to the development of professional skills of operative officers, as other joint activities did this year,” said Mushegh Babayan, Deputy Chairman of the ACC.

The training included practical sessions, which enabled participants to apply corruption investigation methods on issues such as investigating money laundering schemes and electoral bribery. Interactive sessions were delivered by experts with practical experience in leading anti-corruption agencies.

“We are excited to be part of this practical workshop, especially since the OSCE has been instrumental in the establishment of the ACC before it became a fully operational state agency in Armenia in the fall of 2021. As the ACC marks its first year of operation, we are pleased to develop the capacity of its operative officers to investigate corruption in a variety of sectors including the key risk areas of financial crimes and electoral bribery, as well as to share international best practice on inter-agency cooperation to improve the efficiency of ACC’s efforts to combat corruption in Armenia,” said Ralf Ernst, Deputy Co-ordinator at OCEEA.

The event was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia and organized in the framework of the OSCE Project on strengthening anti-corruption reform in Armenia, financed by Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.