Project Update
OSCE Brings Together Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of Cyprus, Armenia, Moldova, and Cypriot Police for Exchange on Investigating Crypto-Related Crime
- Issued on:
- Issued by:
- Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, OSCE Secretariat
- Fields of work:
- Economic activities, Good governance
On 21 and 22 July, the OSCE organized a peer exchange in Nicosia, Cyprus, on analyzing and investigating crypto-related Suspicious Transaction Reports. The event brought together the Financial Intelligence Unit of Cyprus (MOKAS), the Cyprus Police, Moldova's Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering (FIU Moldova) and Armenia's Financial Monitoring Center (FIU Armenia).
Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) are the backbone of anti-money laundering frameworks, yet research shows that they often do not translate into tangible results. Their value is only realized once they are properly analyzed, prioritized and acted upon – a task that depends on the capacity of FIUs to turn reports into actionable intelligence, and of law enforcement to carry investigations forward. This applies to virtual assets, where the volume and complexity of activity are growing rapidly and where the ability to investigate effectively, rather than simply collect data, will determine whether financial crime is tackled.
Against this backdrop, the exchange focused on sharing practices related risk indicators, red flags, and the role of cryptocurrency in financial crime, as well as approaches to dissecting crypto-related Suspicious Transaction Reports: identifying information gaps, assessing the quality of reporting and prioritizing leads for further analysis.
A practical session covered blockchain explorers and analytical tools, applying established money laundering typologies to real transaction patterns - from detecting layering through rapid multi-wallet transfers and structuring aimed at avoiding reporting thresholds to concealment via mixers and privacy coins.
The exchange also gave FIU Armenia and FIU Moldova an opportunity to look ahead to when Virtual Asset Service Providers become reporting entities in their respective countries. Drawing on Cyprus's experience, participants learned how to handle the increased volume and changing nature of crypto-related STRs they can expect to receive, as well as ways to strengthen their analytical capacity and risk indicators.
The workshop was organized as part of the OSCE extrabudgetary project “Innovative policy solutions to mitigate money-laundering risks of virtual assets,” implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, with support from Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States.