19/11/2018 – Twenty-eight officials participated in the inaugural “VAT/GST Fraud Investigations” course at the OECD Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation last week in Buenos Aires. The Academy was launched earlier this year as part of Argentina’s G20 presidency by Argentina’s Minister of Treasury Nicolás Dujovne and the OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría. 

The course, delivered on 12-16 November, explored the threats and risk assessment around various types of VAT/GST fraud, investigative techniques and their challenges and best practices, asset seizures and the money laundering issues associated with VAT/GST fraud, as well as prosecution challenges and best practices.

 

 Inaugural course at the OECD Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation
12-16 November 2018 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

 

Housed in the facilities of Argentina’s Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP), the OECD Latin America Academy will continue to provide intensive capacity-building courses targeted at tax crime and other financial crime investigators and related law enforcement officials, including prosecutors, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption officials, that will support tax crime investigators throughout their careers.

The 2019 OECD Latin America Academy schedule will cover all aspects of conducting and managing financial investigations, including complex money laundering and the role of tax investigators, investigative techniques, identifying, freezing & recovering assets, and managing international investigations. Courses offered by the OECD Latin America Academy will be an important contribution to the wider work of the OECD Oslo Dialogue, which promotes a whole-of-government approach to fighting financial crime.

“The OECD Latin America Academy will develop capacity in the region of tax and financial crime investigators, through training on the key skills and techniques required in financial investigations, to effectively fight financial crimes and stem illicit financial flows,” said Grace Perez-Navarro, Deputy Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. “We are very grateful to the Argentine authorities for supporting this initiative.”

The establishment of the OECD Latin America Academy in July 2018 builds on the success of the original International Academy hosted by the Guardia di Finanza in Ostia, Italy, and the OECD Africa Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation launched by the OECD, Kenya, Italy and Germany at the G20 Africa Partnership conference in June 2017. Together, these efforts have trained more than 650 financial investigators from over 80 countries.

Media enquiries should be directed to Grace Perez-Navarro, Deputy Director of the OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (+33 1 45 24 18 80) or Martín Kanenguiser, Director of Communications, AFIP.