The event was attended by representatives of the European institutions and other Italian and international bodies competent in the sector, such as the European Commission, Europol, Interpol, Bank of Italy and the State Mint, as well as Dr. Maria Vittoria De Simone, magistrate of the Directorate Nazionale Antimafia, which illustrated the regulatory aspects relating to currency forgery in Europe and nationally.
During the activities, the delegates were able to deepen the investigative techniques for combating organized crime dedicated to monetary falsification through lessons and practical exercises by staff of the Carabinieri Anti-Counterfeiting Monetary Command and learn more about the operational model of the Carabinieri with a visit to the Provincial Carabinieri Command of Rome, where they visited the Operations Center, the beating heart of the Arma della Capitale. The foreign delegates also carried out a study visit at the Carabinieri Investigations Scientific Group, the Higher Institute of Investigative Techniques of the Carabinieri in Velletri and at the laboratories of the Bank of Italy and the State Mint.
The initiative, funded by the European Commission under the "PERICLES" Program for the protection of the Euro, is part of a context of community awareness-raising activities aimed at police officers of third countries, whose training is delegated by the European institutions also to the Carabinieri, by virtue of the excellent operational results obtained in contrasting the counterfeiting of currency in circulation during the twenty-year experience in the sector. A new element of this edition of the Staff Exchange is the creation of specific training modules that will be held in the coming months by non-commissioned officers of the Carabinieri Monetary Counterfeiting Command at the police forces of Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal. The training will be structured according to the "Train the Trainer" method which will allow participants to acquire specific knowledge regarding the security features of euro banknotes and coins of all denominations, as well as the methodologies used for the analysis of the counterfeit European currency and investigation techniques against organized crime involved in the production and international trafficking of false money.
The Carabinieri Anti-Counterfeiting Monetary Command was founded in 1992 and since then has been conducting investigations into crime dedicated to the false nummario, particularly active in Italy and which has become an even more dangerous threat following the introduction of the Euro and the consequent enlargement. of the counterfeit currency market towards new countries, some of which are candidates or aspiring to join the European Union and adopt the Euro. In this capacity, therefore, as the National Competent Authority for the Carabinieri in the particular sector (pursuant to Regulation 1338/2001 of the EU Council), the Carabinieri Anti-Counterfeiting Monetary Command has successfully organized for many years, on behalf of the Commission European Union, initiatives for the protection of the Euro and to increase international cooperation in the specific sector, making it a safe and appreciated reference for the corresponding police organizations of the member countries of the European Union and third countries.
Source: Carabinieri Anti-Counterfeiting Monetary Command
