On September 13, 2024, a round table of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units of the CIS Member States was held at Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod with the active support of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring). The topic was "Current Practices for Countering the Involvement of Youth in Financing Illegal Activities Using Modern Tools."
Opening remarks were delivered by:
· Ivan Kornev, Head of the CHFIU Secretariat;
· Igor Panshin, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District;
· Peter Bannikov, Deputy Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region;
· Oleg Trofimov, Rector of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod.
The round table participants discussed the use of in-game currencies, streaming services, crowdfunding, money mule schemes, and other new financial instruments used in criminal activities.
Representatives of the private sector actively participated in the discussions, notably the Association of Russian Banks, which presented a report "Banks and New Threats: Money Mules, Games, Donations, and Cryptocurrency."
Representatives from the Council member states highlighted best practices in the legislative regulation of virtual assets and countering the involvement of youth in illegal activities, including through the use of notary services. They also shared practical experience in conducting financial investigations into crimes related to the financing of terrorism through cryptocurrencies.
The hybrid event brought together over 5,000 participants, including members of the scientific community (representatives from universities of the International AML/CFT Network Institute), law enforcement and other public authorities, international organizations, and the private sector from more than 10 countries (Armenia, Belarus, Brazil, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Peru, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe).
Following the event, an informational bulletin on trends in the involvement of youth in financing illegal activities and countermeasures will be developed.
