On Thursday, August 13, the meeting of the Crime Prevention Council supported the necessary measures to combat financial and economic crime more effectively.
On behalf of the Prime Minister, the meeting was chaired by Jānis Bordāns, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.
According to the decision of the Council, the financing from the Confiscation Fund in the amount of 1 167 568 EUR has been granted to the Prosecutor’s Office, Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau and the State Revenue Service, as well as the State Forensic Medicine Expertise Center, the State Police and the State Boarder Guard. Funding was requested for strengthening the capacity of institutions and providing specialized training in the fight against financial and economic crime, as well as materials for improving the technical support of state institutions.
During the meeting, the analytical report of criminal intelligence of law enforcement and security institutions on 2019 and current trends, as well as the report of the Ministry of Welfare on the progress of the implementation of the “Children's Home” model were also presented.
Already in 2016, the Council supported the introduction of the Children's Home model in Latvia. The aim of the Children’s Home is to guarantee the child coordinated and effective institutional action and to prevent the child from being emotionally re-traumatized while information about the potential abuse is being clarified, as well as in the judicial process by setting up a “one-stop shop” approach. In a child-friendly environment, all the necessary specialists involved in both the criminal process and the rehabilitation process will be available. The Ministry of Welfare, in cooperation with other responsible institutions, must evaluate and, if necessary, develop amendments to regulatory enactments by 31 December 2021 in order to ensure the operation of the “Children's Home” model even after the end of the pilot project and its implementation throughout Latvia.
The Chairman of the Crime Prevention Council is the Prime Minister and the council consists of the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Welfare, the Minister of Education and Science, the Attorney General, the Chief Justice, the Auditor General, the Chairman of the Financial and Capital Market Commission, the Chief of the Financial Intelligence Service and the the Head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau.
Additional information:
Law on Execution of Confiscation of Criminally Acquired Property provides that a part of the confiscated criminally acquired property transferred to the state budget should be directed to a separate budget program in order to implement the necessary measures to combat financial and economic crimes and provide support to victims of crime. In accordance with the procedure established by the government Treasury transfers 50 percent of the amount of confiscated proceeds of crime paid to the state budget to the Confiscation Fund three times a year, but not more than two million euros.