For three days, 12 prosecutors and investigators attended specialised online education on Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT).
The use of OSINT methodology for investigations can be applied without the immediate need for coercive measures which contributes to the proportionality and subsidiarity of investigations. Meanwhile, the amount of information available in open sources which can be leveraged for nearly every investigation is significant which will enhance the efficiency of the investigation and prosecution of organised crime and corruption cases.
The lecture focused on:
- Search engines, people search;
- Methodology, public registers; and
- Data quality, geolocation.
At the end of the training, participants can use open-source intelligence tools in an advanced manner, which is extremely useful in the investigations and cases they are working on.
The experts who shared their knowledge and experience were Mr Ludo Block and Mr Bert Jan Beneker.
Mr. Ludo Block who is is an independent investigation and intelligence consultant and an associate partner at Grant Thornton Advisory in Slovenia. He started his career in 1987 in the Netherlands’ police where he became a Detective Chief Inspector. From 1999 to 2004 he served in Moscow as the Netherlands’ police liaison officer for Russia and surrounding countries. In 2004 he moved to the private sector and since has been conducting investigations and intelligence projects for corporates, international organizations, governments, and NGOs worldwide. Between 2010 and 2020 he was director of forensics at Grant Thornton in the Netherlands. He obtained a PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2011) based on his research into the effects of EU Council policymaking on the actual practices of cross-border police cooperation in the EU.
Mr Bert Jan Beneker, who is a University of Amsterdam graduate (LL.M.) and has worked as a candidate civil-law notary for over 15 years, specializing in real estate transactions and corporate law. His clients included multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals. In 2012 Bert Jan joined the Dutch police force as a real estate fraud and money laundering specialist. He has extensive experience in intelligence and investigations with a focus on complex money laundering schemes, AML/CFT regulation, data analytics and OSINT. He provides training and consultancy services to the law enforcement community and various stakeholders.
Due to the specifics of the online training, this training is organized in two separate rounds, and each round will be implemented through three sessions. The number of participants is limited to 12 persons.
The next round is scheduled for 5, 6, 7 May 2021, from 09.30h – 12.30h
The deadline for applications is April 26, 2021.
Participants will be selected based on the chronological order of the received application.
To apply for this training please write to Mr Almir Tabaković, CEST FBIH (almir.tabakovic@cest.gov.ba) or Mr Nikola Mitrović, CEST RS (nikola.mitrovic@rs.cest.gov.ba ). For all other questions, please contact Ms Maja Čvoro, EU4Justice project (maja.cvoro@xpertisefrance.fr) or mobile phone +387 65 337 399.
