Strengthening inter-agency coordination in the investigation and prosecution of United Nations sanctions evasion

From 10 to 11 December 2024, a workshop on strengthening inter-agency coordination in the investigation and prosecution of United Nations sanctions evasion was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Figure 1. Participants in the workshop

Figure 2. Delegates of the Ministry of National Defence with international experts at the workshop

The world situation is currently changing rapidly, and the escalation of conflicts in several regions has heightened the risk of the use of weapons of mass destruction and of proliferation activities on a global scale. As a result, the risk of sanctions evasion has also increased, affecting the security of individual nations and of the world as a whole. In order to build capacity and keep abreast of new sanctions evasion trends, the Export Control and Related Border Security Program (EXBS) of the US Department of State, in cooperation with the Civilian Research and Development Foundation and Muller Group International, an international capacity-building organisation, organised a workshop on strengthening inter-agency coordination in the investigation and prosecution of United Nations sanctions evasion.

The workshop was attended by delegates from the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Supreme People's Procuracy and the State Bank of Vietnam, as well as international experts in related fields.

Figure 3. A delegate of the Ministry of National Defence discussing relevant issues with ministries and sectors

At the workshop, international experts provided participants with new knowledge of the methods and techniques used to evade United Nations sanctions by entities and individuals on the United Nations designated list, and by entities and individuals acting on behalf of or under the authority of designated entities and individuals, in order to raise funds and accumulate cash flows for proliferation financing, particularly for nuclear weapons proliferation programmes. The experts also shared knowledge on virtual currencies and digital currencies and the risk of virtual currencies being used as a means of payment to evade United Nations sanctions for the purpose of proliferation financing, as well as the importance of strengthening coordination among countries and among ministries and sectors in preventing the evasion of United Nations sanctions.

During the workshop, officers of Standing Office 81 actively exchanged views with the Ministry of Justice, the State Bank of Vietnam and other relevant ministries and sectors on the work of countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and proliferation financing carried out by the Ministry of National Defence – Vietnam's National Focal Point for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – in the recent period, as well as on future directions, particularly the improvement of the legal and institutional framework for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Vietnam.

Dang Huy Hiep – Centre 81