the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia, today hosted the OSCE Chairpersonship Regional Conference on Combating Corruption, Money Laundering, and Facilitating Asset Recovery Efforts in South-Eastern Europe. The conference was organized in cooperation and with the support of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.
"This conference is particularly important as fighting corruption is a clear political priority for North Macedonia; fighting corruption brings our region together and proves that by working one with the other, we can do more and do better; and fighting corruption is one of the many added values that the OSCE brings to us and to our people, not least through the field operations all of our countries host," said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Fatmire Isaki. "With its comprehensive approach to security, the OSCE is active in assisting participating States in combating corruption. Entering into today's specific topic, OSCE Ministerial Council decisions have repeatedly underlined the importance of addressing the financial side of all forms of crime, preventing transfers of the proceeds of crime and pursuing recovery of criminal assets," she added.
"The OSCE's projects in South-Eastern Europe on asset recovery and management, open data and virtual currency have helped build lasting networks, legal reforms and innovations in the region. For example, the creation of the Balkan Asset Management Interagency Network (BAMIN) has been so successful that many other States are now joining. The Chairpersonship's conference highlights these OSCE success stories" said the Chairpersonship's Special Representative on Combating Corruption, Anita Ramasastry.
The one-day conference brought together government representatives, judges, prosecutors and law-enforcement officials from OSCE participating States across South-Eastern Europe, as well as experts from civil society and academia.
The first session of the conference invited speakers to exchange on their experiences and lessons learned on asset recovery mechanisms in the region. It was followed by a session on emerging risks in crypto currency-driven money laundering and how to counter it, as well as a side event on the use of open data and the role of civil society in preventing corruption in the region.
