Bilateral cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

As part of the initiatives aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, a conference took place in Dubai from 12 to 18 May 2024. training course on money laundering for 60 operators from the UAE Ministry of the Interior, as well as belonging to the seven Police Forces, the Judiciary and the Financial Information Unit (FIU).

The training exercise, in which the Italian Consul in Dubai took part for a welcoming address, was organized over five days by the Office for the Coordination and Planning of the Police Forces, in synergy with the Italian Security Expert and in response to a specific request from the Emirati Liaison Officer. During the course, the Italian delegation, composed of representatives of the Department of Public Security of the Ministry of the Interior (International Relations Service - Office for the Coordination and Planning of the Police Forces, Central Directorate of the Criminal Police, Central Directorate for the Scientific Police and Cyber ​​Security, Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate, Central Anti-Crime Directorate of the State Police), of the General Commands of the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza, it discussed with the Emirati students, through its best skills and experiences, the many aspects inherent to the law enforcement system, training activities and activities related to the fight against and money laundering, starting a fruitful dialogue on which to base future developments of mutual collaboration in this specific area.

In particular, the training activity included seven sessions in which the Italian teachers illustrated the Italian regulatory system, as a necessary tool for affect the illicit assets, in particular of transnational organized crime, and explored issues such as the prevention and fight against money laundering in the fight against mafia-type organized crime, the growing phenomena of fraud (Romantic Scam, Sex Extortions, online trading, e-commerce, etc.) through the use of artificial intelligence and new technologies, the "follow the money" approach as a key strategy that allows you to follow the flow of illicit money through global financial circuits, the use of the Asset Recovery Office as a tool for locating and freezing assets resulting from criminal activities, the evolution of Italian legislation on gaming and betting, the technical details relating to cryptocurrencies, the processing methodologies, withdrawal and confiscation of virtual assets, with a focus on international collaboration that allows access to a wide range of financial and banking data, crucial for reconstructing complex money laundering schemes.

The works have received the applause of the Ministry of the Interior and the Emirati delegation, which expressed feelings of particular gratitude for the Italian expertise., for the excellent organization and coordination capacity of the Police Forces ensured by the Department of Public Security of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, while at the same time hoping for a continuation of collaboration in the training field, in order to start a path of creation and sharing of experiences and good practices and consolidation of similar skills in favor of sector experts.