Andorra Hosts First UK Training on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

Andorra's police have wrapped up a two-day training programme with UK specialists on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Justice Ministry headquarters. Organised with the Superior Council of Justice, Prosecutor's Office, and Batllia, the sessions gathered about 50 professionals from police, judicial, customs, and tax authorities to exchange investigative methods against money laundering, terrorism financing, and organised crime.

Prominent UK speakers included representatives from HM Revenue and Customs, the National Crime Agency, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the British Embassy's Anti-Terrorism Police Liaison Officer. Andorran contributors were deputy prosecutor Borja Aguado and batlle Azahara Cascales. Facilitated by the British Embassy in Madrid, the event focused on aligning tools and approaches to address complex, cross-border threats through enhanced international collaboration.

Police officials noted the sessions' importance for advancing skills in the Economic-Financial Unit, Technical Criminal Investigation Unit, Anti-Fraud Unit, and International Police Cooperation Office. While Andorra has held similar exchanges for years with experts from the United States, Italy, France, and Spain, this marked the first with the UK, strengthening professional networks against evolving security challenges.

On the same Tuesday, Justice and Interior Minister Ester Molné spoke at the Council of Europe's Conference of Ministers of Justice and Interior in Strasbourg. During the roundtable "Investigating, Tracking Money: Specialisation in an Era of Complexity," she emphasised that specialised personnel, adapted investigation techniques, and international cooperation are essential to counter these crimes.

Molné detailed Andorra's dedicated penal instruction sections for such offences, prosecutors focused exclusively on them, and a police unit for economic-financial probes. She highlighted ongoing adoption of digital data extraction and analysis tools to improve efficiency. On cooperation, she pointed to Andorra's active role as central authority in penal agreements, including the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and its recent ratification of the Warsaw Convention to strengthen frameworks against money laundering, corruption, and terrorism financing.

The conference enabled exchanges on strategies involving technology and specialisation to tackle advancing organised crime. Molné also held a joint meeting with counterparts from Monaco, San Marino, and Liechtenstein to address shared concerns among small European states.