Anna Vardapetyan, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia participated in the European 18th regional conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in the Republic of Malta.

Let us remind that the Prosecutor General’s Office has become a member of the International Association of Prosecutors since May 17, 1999.

Victoria Buttigieg, Attorney General of the Republic of Malta, Roel Dona Secretary-General of the International Association of Prosecutors, Shenaz Muzaffer, General Counsel  of the International Association of Prosecutors, prosecutors from the French Republic, United States of America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Malta, the Republic of Kazakhstan, etc participated in the conference.

On November 8, 2024, in the scope of the conference, Anna Vardapetyan delivered a speech on “The change of the qualification of corpus delicti of money laundering in Armenia in the context of case law development of the Court of Cassation”. 

The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, referring to the issue of examination of financial crimes, including money laundering in Armenia, highlighted that pursuant to 2021 study of the United Nations Interrogational Crime and Justice Research Institute, Armenia has sufficient legal and institutional grounds for fighting against money laundering.  In the context of stable development of Armenia, and establishment of the rule of law and justice in the country Anna Vardapetyan reaffirmed the will and commitment of Armenia to conduct effective examination of financial crimes including money laundering, highlighted the steps, taken to formulate intolerance towards corruption crimes and enumerated institutional works, implemented during the examination of criminal proceedings on money laundering. 

The Prosecutor General of the Republic also referred to the challenges in the field of examination of criminal proceedings on money laundering, stating that the law enforcement bodies of different countries don’t have a unified approach and the domestic and foreign practices of examination are inconsistent. In the context of surmounting challenges, Anna Vardapetyan highlighted the steps taken by the Republic of Armenia for developing international-legal cooperation, particularly the agreement on cooperation signed in the city of Brussels between Armenia and Eurojust on April 05, 2024, which was ratified by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on September 10, and afterwards a working arrangement was signed on September 23. Pursuant to the RA Prosecutor General the Agreement that will enter into force from December, will open an opportunity for Armenia to second a Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust, due to which a communication will be established with the contact persons of EU member states and third countries and it will promote effective international-legal cooperation in the scope of the criminal proceedings initiated in the Republic of Armenia.

Anna Vardapetyan attached importance to the landmark decision of the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia rendered during 2023, which was essential for the examination of money laundering cases as well as for criminal prosecution. Anna Vardapetyan, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia thanked the International Association of Prosecutors as well as the Attorney General of the Republic of Malta for the organization of the conference and highlighted that the mutual active and effective cooperation is a prerequisite for success in the fight against financial crimes.