FIU Latvia strengthens the capacity to detect environmental crime and related money laundering

Environmental crime is a growing threat, often closely linked to other financial crimes. To strengthen authorities' capacities to detect this type of crime, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia (FIU), with the support of a grant from the European Economic Area (EEA), organizes training led by national and international experts and adopts best practices from other countries law enforcement authorities and financial intelligence units.

Environmental crime is estimated to be one of the most profitable crimes in the world, with proceeds potentially exceeding €250 billion each year.[1] In Latvia, according to the National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, Terrorism, and Proliferation Financing for 2020-2022, the threat of environmental crime presents an increasing trend for money laundering risks.[2]

The FIU Latvia is implementing a series of activities under the EEA Grants Initiative aimed at strengthening the capacity of FIU, law enforcement, and regulatory authorities to detect and identify money laundering related to environmental crime by learning about the most common typologies and adopting best practices in combating these crimes.

As part of the initiative, FIU Latvia representatives have already strengthened their knowledge by participating in a training seminar organized by the State Environmental Service. At the end of January, the FIU Latvia visited its project partner, FIU Iceland, to exchange experiences in the fight against money laundering, with a special focus on financial transactions related to environmental crime.

The visit covered various topics, including case studies on environmental crime, and insights from the Icelandic Environmental Service on monitoring waste management and water pollution risks.

In March, the FIU Latvia will visit FIU Norway and conduct further face-to-face and online training with international experts on this topic. The project will conclude with an International Conference on Environmental crime in Riga on March 24-25, bringing together the best investigators in the field.

The DSF initiative “Improvement of Employee Knowledge in Combating Money Laundering in Latvia, including the identification of environmental crimes” is implemented within the EEA Grants 2014-2021 Programme “International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime.”