Study trip on combating corruption and money laundering

Details: Published: August 8, 2023

The delegation at an expert talk with members of the Committee on Legal Affairs at the German Bundestag.

Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova

The IRZ conducted a study trip in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin on the subject of combating corruption and money laundering for a delegation from the Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The Committee on Legal Affairs of the German Bundestag also received the guests as part of the diverse programme.

In 2022, the European Union granted Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova EU candidate status and Georgia was also offered the prospect of EU accession. The German Bundestag therefore provided the IRZ with additional funds to conduct cooperation with these three partner countries As the recommendations of the EU Commission for the necessary legal reforms in all three states emphasised in particular the fight against corruption and organised crime, the IRZ implemented a study trip with the relevant specialist focus in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The participants were representatives from various governmental and non-governmental institutions from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia that are responsible for preventing and prosecuting cases of corruption.

The State Justice Minister Dr. Benjamin Limbach, received the delegation In North Rhine-Westphalia, This was followed by appointments at the State Office of Criminal Investigations and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Düsseldorf. The guests also visited the main departments of the Public Prosecutor's Offices in Wuppertal and Bochum, and engaged in expert talks to explore in-depth issues around the confiscation of assets and organised crime. At a meeting with the European Public Prosecutor's Office, they also discussed the subject of “Investigations into cases of fraud and tax evasion affecting the European budget of the European Union”.

The delegation then travelled to Berlin, where it was received by the Committee on Legal Affairs of the German Bundestag. Dr. Günter Krings, MdB, chaired the discussion, in which the participants explained the progress made to date and the major challenges in the fight against corruption in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The study trip was rounded off with expert talks at the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland. The focus here was on “Measures to prevent corruption in the federal administration”.

A similar study trip on the theme of “Independence of the judiciary” to Lower Saxony and Berlin is planned for August 2023 with participants from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia to further promote exchanges between the three partner states as part of the EU accession process.