Uzbekistan police trained by UN Security Agency on “how to seize cryptocurrencies”

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held a five-day training course on cryptocurrency and dark web investigations for Uzbek police and prosecutors. The course is part of OSCE’s consistent effort to educate Central Asian law enforcement agencies about emerging technologies that criminals can exploit in strategically important areas for the global drug trade.

According to an official press release on October 21, representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Security Agency attended the training from October 17 to 21 to learn about key concepts and key trends. Internetworking, anonymity and encryption, cryptocurrencies, obfuscation techniques, the dark web, the Tor network.

Enforcers were familiar with methods of seizing cryptocurrencies and blockchain analytics developed by the European Cybercrime Training and Education Group (ECTEG). The OSCE has donated a new computer classroom to the Attorney General Academy.

The course was the first national training in Uzbekistan to be offered in the second phase of the “Capacity Building on Fighting Cybercrime in Central Asia” special budget project funded by the United States, Germany and South Korea. . National training activities will continue across the region in 2022-2023.

In 2020, the OSCE also conducted a training program on crypto enforcement for Central Asian countries. At that time, the range of participating enforcers was much wider, with representatives from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia present in the city of Almaty.

Related: Armenia Aims to Position itself as a Bitcoin Mining Hub

In August, the government of Uzbekistan, which had previously taken significant steps towards a more moderate approach to crypto, closed many large international cryptocurrencies, including Binance, FTX and Huobi, after accusations of unauthorized activity. Access to the exchange has been restricted.

The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization and holds observer status at the United Nations. Based in Vienna, it focuses on issues such as arms control, human rights promotion, press freedom, and free and fair elections.