CEPOL Financial Investigation in Virtual Currencies

The CEPOL Training Activity titled “11_2022 Financial investigations in Virtual Currencies” took place from the 26th to the 30th of September at the premises of the University of Nicosia, the first university in Cyprus to have entered into a four-year Framework Partnership Agreement with CEPOL since 2021. The aim of the course was to enhance the capacity of specialised investigators to gather evidence, as well as trace, recover and manage virtual currencies. In addition, the course aimed to contribute to fighting financial crimes by strengthening multidisciplinary cooperation in the context of financial investigations on cryptocurrencies, in particular by developing cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities. The training activity was co-organized by the Institute of Public and Cyber Security (IPCS) and the Institute for the Future (IFF) of the University of Nicosia.

The course was attended by 46 participants from 23 member states and Switzerland (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden) from law enforcement agencies and EJTN (European Judicial Training Network). The course started with an introductory training on cryptocurrencies and their taxonomy, followed by other topics such Digital Currencies Regulatory Landscape, Cryptocurrency Investigative Technique, Asset Confiscation and Collecting Evidence and Seizing of Cryptocurrencies. Various relevant case studies were presented. In addition, during the course, a practical application of the CipherTrace Blockchain analysis tool for combating the illegal flow of cryptocurrencies took place. The course’s renowned trainers came from  the United States of America, Europol, EJTN, the University of Nicosia and other European countries. The Chief of Cyprus Police, Mr. Papatheodorou, the CEO of the University of Nicosia, Mr. Polemitis, as well as the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute of Public and Cyber Security (IPCS) and former Chief of Cyprus Police, Mr. Zacharias Chrysostomou, commenced the activity during a short opening ceremony that took place on Monday the 26th of September.

Dr Leonidas Katelaris – Activity Manager stated: “We are proud to have hosted CEPOL’s training activity at University of Nicosia, on training law enforcement officials and judicial authorities in the hot topic of financial investigation on virtual currencies. University of Nicosia as a leading university in the fields of blockchain and cryptocurrencies assures the high quality of the training activity on the benefit of the participants, who will be able to acknowledge the main threads in virtual currencies and learn how to manage, trace, and investigate virtual currencies to combat new forms of crime.

IPCS was established in 2019, aiming to offer multidisciplinary professional training in Policing, Security, Investigation and Cybersecurity.

The Institute for the Future (IFF) is an interdisciplinary research Centre at the University of Nicosia aiming in advancing emerging technologies and contributing to their effective application in industry, government and education as well as evaluating their impact on employment, wealth inequality and our lives and societies in general. The course builds on UNIC’s eight-year track record as the leading university in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain. UNIC launched the world’s first-degree program in cryptocurrency in 2014.Today, UNIC has educated over 100,000 students in academic and non-academic courses, has the world’s largest team of faculty and staff focused on cryptoassets and blockchains, and is the academic lead for the European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum.