Combat-Crime Press releases

Launch conference of the project “Fighting criminality and corruption”

The Office of Information and Public Relations within the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice is empowered (authorized/ entitled) to bring to the attention of the (make) public the following:

On March 6, 2019, the launch conference of the project “Fighting criminality and corruption” was held in Bucharest, the project being financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, with a budget of 4,250,000 euros and an implementation period of 36 months. The project is carried out in partnership with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the financing contract that was signed on 27.11.2018 being the first financing contract concluded under the “Justice” program of the current Norwegian Financial Mechanism.

The event was attended by the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ), Mr. Augustin Lazăr, the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the PICCJ, Mrs. Laura Oprean, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of DIICOT, Mrs. Ioana Bogdana Albani, the DNA Head Prosecutor’s Counsellor, Mrs. Anca Jurma, the Chief Prosecutor of the Human Resources and Documentation Service within the PICCJ, Mr. Cătălin Andrei Popescu, general prosecutors of the prosecutor’s offices attached to the courts of appeal, as well as members of the project implementation team.

In the address given at the opening of the conference, the Prosecutor General of the PICCJ, Mr. Augustin Lazăr pointed out that, for the Public Ministry it is essential to develop projects such as the one in question, emphasizing the high value of the investment and the benefits in the field of professional training for over 600 prosecutors, specialists and judicial police officers. In her turn, Mrs. Laura Oprean, the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the PICCJ, highlighted the complexity of the project, which – both by way of the operational component and by way of the vocational training component – covers the priorities and strategic objectives of the Public Ministry.

The project coordinator, the Chief Prosecutor Cătălin Andrei Popescu, delivered a presentation of the Norway grants and of the Justice program within the current mechanism, as well as a detailed presentation of the project and the activities to be carried out.

The main goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the Public Ministry to fight criminality and corruption, thus contributing to the strengthening of the rule of law and the judicial system as a whole. The project has two components: one of professional training for prosecutors, judicial police officers and specialists, and the other one, regarding the procurement of equipment for the prosecutor`s office units, equipment that will contribute to the efficient conduct of the criminal investigation activity.

As regards the management approach, it is structured based on two pillars: one is represented by the analysis of the resources used in carrying out the investigations in the field of financial crime and money laundering, and the other concerns the institutional construction, materialized, on the one hand, in the professional training specialized in fighting environmental crimes, petty corruption, money laundering, fraud in public procurement, but also in the field of hearing techniques and neurolinguistic programming, and on the other hand, in the acquisition of the equipment designed to improve the criminal investigation.

More than 600 prosecutors, specialists and judicial police officers will benefit from professional training during 40 seminars, and 15 specialists will benefit from a master’s degree at the University College of Dublin – School of Criminal Investigation. Also, two study visits will be organized in Norway, at the Riksadvokaten headquarters.

At the level of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice  the project is implemented by the Project Management Unit and at the level of the two partner directorates, it is implemented by specially established implementation teams, under the general coordination of the Chief Prosecutor Cătălin Andrei Popescu, from the Human Resources and Documentation Section.

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