The Special Investigation Service (STT), bringing together partners in Lithuania and internationally to detect, investigate, and prevent the bribery of foreign officials in international business transactions, continues its cycle of practical training sessions. This time, the focus was on coordinating investigative actions and collecting data in international bribery cases. This was the third training organized by STT, attended by more than 100 representatives from Lithuanian law enforcement institutions, courts, and the prosecution service.
The training was organized within the framework of the project “Prevention and Detection of Corruption, including Bribery in International Business Transactions” (VSF/2023/331), funded by the Internal Security Fund. The project aims to enhance the competence of STT officers and their partners in investigating and preventing such forms of corruption. It consists of several components: sharing best practices during international visits; practical workshops for STT officers and domestic partners; and the development of an educational training platform.
“In these trainings we seek to strengthen both the STT’s and our partners’ capabilities, so that we are prepared to effectively and decisively detect and investigate international corruption crimes. Such investigations require a high level of professionalism and close inter-institutional cooperation,” said Jovitas Raškevičius, First Deputy Director of the STT.
The one-day training sessions, held in Klaipėda and Vilnius, featured three expert speakers: Shannon Bieniek, representative of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and international anti-corruption advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest; investigator Andrew Woods and prosecutor Katriona Standford, both working as case controllers at the UK Serious Fraud Office. The seminar addressed practical aspects of coordinating investigative actions and collecting data in international bribery cases. It also presented U.S. and UK practices in investigating international bribery.
The training brought together representatives of institutions cooperating in the detection and investigation of bribery of foreign officials in international business transactions: the STT, the Prosecution Service, the Police, the Customs Department, the Financial Crime Investigation Service, the State Tax Inspectorate, the Public Procurement Office, as well as representatives from the courts, the Institute of Law of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, the Ministry of Justice, and the State Border Guard Service.
The first seminars of this cycle took place in November 2024 in Vilnius and Klaipėda. They introduced STT officers and partners to practices in handling cases of bribery of foreign officials and the organization of investigations, with expert insights shared by representatives of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB).
The second training, held in May this year, focused on practical methods of using data in international bribery investigations, including the detection and examination of financial flows and illicit transactions. Data-driven risk assessment and prevention strategies were also presented, along with practices from international bribery cases examined in Germany. Expert insights were shared by specialists from Italy and Germany.
Two more seminars are planned in the future, which will present best practices from foreign countries on the prevention of international bribery and cooperation with the private sector.
More photos from the training can be found here.
