Transparency International Lithuania (TI Lithuania), together with other Transparency International chapters from Latvia, France, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the European Union, is implementing the ‘Strengthened enforcement capacities of public authorities (STEP EU)’ initiative from November 2023. It aims to strengthen the capacities of responsible authorities and their ability to cooperate for the prevention of corruption and money laundering.
Corrupt individuals often use various schemes to conceal the illegality, extent, and source of funds obtained through criminal means. This is achieved by setting up shell companies, trusts, fictitious contracts and the use of financial market participants and intermediaries in other sectors or sales. Various forms of assets are used in this legalization process: digital currencies, cash, cars, real estate, land, art, etc. Finally, through these means, illegally obtained funds are integrated into the international economy.
Corruption and money laundering violate the fundamental principles of democracy and have a negative impact on a country’s economy and the international financial system. Preventive measures are therefore of particular importance.
The following key factors play a decisive role in the timely identification and prevention of money laundering and corruption:
- the quality and accessibility of information on corporate and asset ownership and financial data;
- advanced analytical capacities of law enforcement authorities to detect and investigate corruption-related money laundering;
- adequate financial and human resources of law enforcement authorities and financial intelligence units;
- effective cooperation, coordination and exchange of information and intelligence between institutions.
The STEP EU initiative focuses on the analysis of legal regulation and practical implementation, using open source research and focus group survey methods. In this way, together with partners, TI Lithuania is aiming to assess data availability, gaps and use practices. In addition we want to contribute in strengthening the capacity of EU Member States to identify and investigate cross-border corruption and to improve cooperation between competent authorities.
You can read about our previous initiatives on anti-money laundering here.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of Transparency International Lithuanian and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
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