OAS and IADB renew collaboration on control of money laundering

Representatives of the Department of Integration and Regional Programs of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Nohra Rey de Marulanda, and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission  of the Organization of American States (CICAD-OAS), James Mack, signed an agreement through which CICAD will oversee a series of mock trials to train judges and prosecutors on cases of money laundering. The program is the fourth round that the IADB has underwriten with CICAD's Money Laundering Control Unit. The project also has contributions from the OAS and the Legal Assistance Program for Latin American and the Caribbean of the United Nations.

The mock trials will take place in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Paraguay, commencing with Chile in November this year. In each occasion, more than 15 court officers will participate in the roles of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, while law enforcement officers, financial analysts of the financial intelligence units or the superintendences of banking (up to 15 participants per event) will assist as expert witnesses.

Although the main objective of a mock trial is the practice of a case of money laundering, the project includes a theoretical component provided by international experts and the development of an investigative plan through which prosecutors outline the strategy to follow in the case.

CICAD, through its Legal Development and Money Laundering Control units, has staged this type of workshop since 2003, at the special request of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).