The kick-off of a new project in which I work with colleagues from UNODC took place on May 20-21, 2024. in the city of Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan. Of course, we are talking about crypto, rather its legalization and prevention of its use in criminal activities. Blockchain analytics companies – AMLbot, Crystal, GlobalLedger and others – were also presented.
The UNODC ROCA, together with OSCE and the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan hosted the conference “Effective strategies for recovering stolen assets; management and disposal of seized, confiscated and returned assets and current issues related to crypto assets in the context of asset recovery”, as part of the work plan under the Regional UNCAC Fast Track Implementation Platform in CentralAsia. The conference aims at strengthening the capacity of the CA countries in asset recovery and countering challenges associated with virtual assets.
It brought together leading experts from UNODC, OSCE – The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, StAR Initiative and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as international experts from Ukraine, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who exchanged experiences on best international practices in asset recovery and asset management.
The UNODC Regional Representative, Ms. Ashita Mittal, during her welcoming speech, emphasized that asset recovery is one of the fundamental elements of the anti-corruption framework established by the UNCAC and highlighted the importance of developing asset recovery mechanisms in Central Asia.
The conference was held with support of Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Intl Narcotics & Law Enforcement (INL).
