News briefing week of 31 January

31/01 The crime gangs cashing in by burying illegal waste. Organised crime gangs are illegally burying thousands of tonnes of waste across Scotland, a BBC investigation has found. Some of the rubbish is being brought up from the north of England by the gangs and is believed to include hazardous clinical waste from hospitals. 01/02…

CRIMJUST and AIRCOP side event on integrity in border management during CoSP

GIFP components CRIMJUST and AIRCOP organised a side event on integrity in border management during the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (CoSP). The side event took place on 16 December 2021 and was held in a hybrid format with in-person and online participation. The…

International Anti-Corruption Day 2021- GIFP overview of anti-corruption efforts

“Corruption is the ultimate betrayal of public trust”, stated António Guterres, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, as he was addressing the world on corruption in the context of the global health crisis of COVID-19. Since 2003, the UN has instituted the 9th of December as the International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of this…

The UNGASS 2021 and GIFP responses to corruption

Corruption is a major threat to stability and security worldwide. It undermines the functioning of public institutions and corrodes political processes, jeopardising economic growth and development. By reducing the overall potential revenue of a country, corruption hampers the ability of governments to adequately fund services such as health care, schools, transport, or the judiciary ultimately…

News Briefing – Week of 28 September

29/09/2020 – The 2020 report on economic development in Africa estimates that $89 billion per year is lost due to illicit financial flows. The UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa KITUYI emphasised the fact that “Illicit financial flows rob Africa and its people of their prospects, undermining transparency and accountability and eroding trust in African institutions”. 29/09/2020 – A former Belgian…

News Briefing – Week of 14 September

15/09/2020 – A former DEA agent who was active in Colombia and was facing corruption charges in the US has pleaded guilty. 17/09/2020 – The Albanian-speaking cocaine trafficking organisation “Kompania Bello” was taken down in an international operation named “Los Blancos”. The operation was supported by EUROJUST and EUROPOL. On 15 September 2020, simultaneous raid in several…

News Briefing – Week of 9 March

  Turkish authorities announced that 2384kgs of heroin have been seized as a result of international operational cooperation with five countries and EUROPOL. The seizures are the result of an investigation that followed a seizure of 300kgs of heroin in Genoa, Italy, back in 2018. The biggest seizure of 1105kgs was made in Kazakhstan, 703kgs in Germany, 350kgs…

Newsbriefing – Week of 8 April

The increase of cocaine production in Colombia has boosted the vulnerability of the Panamanian maritime transport industry. In 2018, the authorities of Colón arrested 330 people and seized 12 tonnes of cocaine, half of it in the port terminals. On the other side of the route, the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have registered an…

CRIMJUST to support a cycle of training on asset forfeiture linked to drug trafficking in Bolivia

From 18 to 25 March, the Bolivian Vice Ministry of Social Defence and Controlled Substances and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a cycle of training aimed at reinforcing capacities on asset forfeiture linked to drug trafficking. Asset forfeiture, or asset seizure, is a form of confiscation undertaken by a state…

Newsbriefing – Week of 1 April

On April 1, the Ecuadorian authorities detected an aircraft reportedly carrying drugs and making an unauthorized landing in the province of Manabí. Although the plane managed to escape, nine alleged drug traffickers were arrested and US $ 200,000, four firearms and several vehicles were seized. Despite the efforts of the authorities, the “narco-flights” remain a…