RGP and HM Customs Officers enhance financial crime investigation skills with intensive training

RGP’s Economic Crime Unit and HM Customs Financial Investigations are enhancing their financial crime investigation skills through a two-week intensive training course in Gibraltar, focusing on money laundering, cryptocurrency investigations, and international financial crime, with funding from the Gibraltar Recovered Assets Fund.

The “Investigating Economic Crime and Money Laundering” programme is being held at Bleak House from February 24 to March 7.

A total of 12 persons are on the course, which is delivered by leading financial crime specialists and is designed to enhance officers’ expertise in tackling money laundering, financial fraud and other economic crimes.

Participants will be provided with advanced investigative techniques, case study analysis and best practices aligned with international anti-money laundering standards.

In addition, officers will also receive additional training on cryptocurrency investigations and all aspects of domestic and international money laundering.

Detective Inspector Luis Miguel Garcia White, who heads the RGP’s Economic Crime Unit, said that the RGP is committed to ensuring that officers involved in financial investigations receive the necessary development to perform their roles to the best of their ability.

“Financial crime is an emerging global threat, and it is vital that we are equipped to detect, investigate and disrupt illicit financial activities,” he said.

“To achieve this, we focus on providing ongoing training and professional development, ensuring our officers are equipped with the skills, knowledge and tools needed to combat financial crime effectively.”

“This commitment ensures that we remain at the forefront of tackling financial crime, both locally and internationally.”

A spokesperson for HM Customs added that HM Customs has worked hard to develop its capabilities for investigating financial crime associated with customs related matters.

“This course equips more officers with the right tools to perform this task effectively and efficiently. The three newly trained customs investigators are key to providing the organisation with resilience in this area,” they said.

While the Minister for Justice, Nigel Feetham, said he was pleased to see continued commitment of Gibraltar’s law enforcement agencies to their professional development.

“The collaboration between the RGP’s ECU and HM Customs Financial Investigations Team highlights the inter-agency approach in combatting financial crime,” he said.

“A key priority for my Ministry is fostering cross-agency cooperation and intelligence sharing.”

“Funding for this training comes from the Gibraltar Recovered Assets Fund, a special fund established under the Public Finance Act.”

The course will be repeated in November to ensure that all team members receive the training.