Mongolia Steps Up Financial Crime Investigation Efforts with STAR Initiative Support

Capacity Building and Policy Support Drive Progress

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - The Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) in Mongolia has made significant strides in investigating financial crimes and recovering stolen assets with the support of the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) initiative.

For over a decade, StAR has provided capacity-building training and policy support to Mongolia, helping the IAAC grow in responsibility to tackle corruption, money laundering, and other financial offenses. The organization’s efforts have been instrumental in enhancing the country’s ability to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

Success Story: Recovering Stolen Assets

“Mongolia’s success in asset recovery is largely due to the commitment and capacity-building support from StAR,” said a spokesperson for the IAAC. “We have made significant progress in recovering stolen assets, with our first settlement and return of $1.1 million in stolen assets from the United Kingdom to the state.”

Regional Networks and Bilateral Engagement

Mongolia has also become an active participant in regional networks and groups such as ARIN-AP and the GlobE Network, leveraging these contacts to advance case work and facilitate bilateral engagement with requested countries.

Virtual Capacity-Building during COVID-19

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, StAR was able to deliver technical assistance and capacity-building training virtually to a wider audience. Over 150 participants from six different organizations received a practical financial investigations workshop, while topic-specific webinars on subjects such as virtual assets and civil recovery were attended by over 350 prosecutors and detectives.

Improving Coordination Mechanisms

StAR also facilitated the improvement of Mongolia’s domestic coordination mechanisms by introducing a Case Management System (CMS), which enhanced internal coordination and cooperation within investigators and between investigators and prosecutors. The evidence matrix within the CMS has been particularly useful for prosecutors when working on complicated cases with multiple offenses, including corruption, procurement fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.

Strengthening Mutual Legal Assistance Regime

In addition to its technical assistance, StAR also provided support in improving Mongolia’s regime and mechanism for provision and transmission of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The organization worked closely with the Prosecutor General of Mongolia to finalize and approve the MLA guidance chapter, which was removed from the General Guidance on Prosecutorial Supervision on Criminal Investigation and became an independent guidance in 2019.

Building Capacity for Long-Term Results

Building capacity and achieving results requires a long-term commitment and investment in personnel over the long term. StAR’s capacity-building efforts in Mongolia will continue by partnering with academia to train new minds, delivering focused events on emerging threats and new methods, and strengthening the processes associated with asset management.