Employees of the ESBU took part in the exercise "Supporting the Strengthening of the Capacity of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Field of Protection of the Financial Interests of the European Union". The event was organised by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.

As part of the project the employees of the ESBU tudied Latvia's experience in building a national system for protecting the EU's financial interests in accordance with the requirements of European legislation.

Employees of the ESBU also met with representatives of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Republic of Latvia (KNAB), the Economic Crime Department of the State Police, the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Latvia to the EU, the Financial Intelligence Service, the European Public Prosecution Office (EPPO), the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meetings, the parties discussed the organisational structure of the analytical and investigative units the specifics of their work, software products used for data analysis and the algorithm for effective interagency cooperation in combating money laundering. They also considered the typology of the most common risks in the field of fraud with EU funds.

At the same time the ESBU representatives got acquainted with the work of the system of European institutions responsible for the development and adoption of the EU budget, types of funds, types of fund management, and existing levels of assessment and control over the use of such funds.

Employees of the Anti-Fraud Coordination Service (AFCOS) familiarised the Bureau's employees with the specifics of the AFCOS Council its composition the structure of the Council's meetings and the relevant developments in protecting EU funds.

In addition the ESBU representatives took part in a regular meeting of the AFCOS Council where they spoke about the Bureau its functions, tasks, place in the national system of bodies responsible for protecting the economic interests of Ukraine and the EU and informed about the main initiatives of the ESBU in terms of protecting the EU's financial interests.

The meeting also presented legal models of cooperation between the ESBU and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Based on the results of their processing, AFCOS Latvia recommended that the relevant provisions on the ESBU’sinteraction with OLAF be included in the Law of Ukraine "On the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine".