Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office have signed a working arrangement on cooperation that took effect on September 11. The document was signed in Luxembourg by Armenia’s Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan and European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi.
The arrangement is designed to strengthen coordination between the two institutions in investigations and prosecutions carried out within their respective mandates. A central focus is the fight against financial crime, with an emphasis on protecting the financial interests of both Armenia and the European Union.
Under the document, the sides will provide each other with maximum assistance in obtaining information and evidence in specific cases, in line with applicable national legislation and relevant international legal instruments.
Key areas of cooperation also include the freezing, seizure and confiscation of assets obtained through criminal activity. Within their mandates and under applicable legal rules, the parties will also be able to work together through joint investigation teams.
The working arrangement further provides for joint training, cooperation in organizing seminars, workshops and conferences, as well as mutual technical and other assistance.
Speaking about the signing, Anna Vardapetyan said financial crimes often extend beyond the borders of a single state, while criminal proceeds may move through multiple jurisdictions. She said effective detection of such crimes and the recovery of criminal assets require rapid, coordinated and reliable cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Vardapetyan added that Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office attaches importance to establishing this new level of cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and is confident the arrangement will have practical value both for protecting the EU’s financial interests and for improving the fight against financial crimes of concern to Armenia and the European Union.
Laura Codruta Kovesi said the two sides had agreed on how they would cooperate in tackling crimes that harmed the EU budget through fraud. Criminals do not stop at borders, she said, and neither will prosecutors: they will track fraudulently stolen funds wherever they are hidden and work to recover them.
Tigran Balayan, head of Armenia’s Mission to the European Union and Armenia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also attended the signing ceremony.
