Representatives of various national and local media organisations gathered in Belgrade for four distinct sessions on complementary methodologies presented by BIRN Serbia staff.
Participants underwent a comprehensive training program which examined the entirety of the investigative process.
Practical advice was presented on searching open source intelligence such as public registries and databases to identify potential money laundering cases, recognizing the means through which criminals attempt to clean “dirty” money, processing and visualisation of big data, and current legal practice regarding such criminal cases.
Working breaks between sessions saw presenters take the time to make themselves available for direct consultation. Participants engaged staff for suggestions on their own specific projects, thus enriching the training experience.
Reviews of the program were overwhelmingly positive.
“The attention to detail was immaculate, presenters were clearly experienced and sought to walk us through every step of the investigative process from top to bottom using concrete examples from their own work,” one attendee noted.
The training was held as part of the project “Uncovering Illicit Financial Flows in the Western Balkans”, financed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ.
The overall goal of the project is to raise public awareness about illicit financial flows and provide a basis for decision and opinion makers to boost efforts to combat illicit financial flow.
It aims to increase the pool of journalists in Western Balkan countries equipped with tools and techniques in uncovering illicit financial flows, especially across borders.