AN was MoU entered into between OECD and Argentina's Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos, for establishment of OECD Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first programme of this new Tax Crime Academy was held on November 12-16, 2018 and gathered tax investigators from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Dominican Republic. The focus of the first course was on VAT/GST fraud and aimed at providing tools to address the specific needs of Latin America Countries and build on Latin America-wide experiences and best practices in tackling illicit financial flows.

This programme would include subject areas such as Bribery and Corruption, Beneficial Ownership and Offshore Structures, Money Laundering, Investigative Techniques, International Co-operation, and Asset Recovery. Programmes would evolve to provide demand-driven training addressing the specific needs of Latin America countries and building on Latin America-wide experiences and best practices in tackling illicit financial flows. The Academy Programmes are structured around a number of modules, however, they are only open to government officials.

Conducting Financial Investigations: In this programme, participants would acquire a thorough understanding of the key skills required for  conducting financial investigations, including the ability to follow the money through complex financial arrangements and how to effectively use sophisticated techniques to identify links between suspects and their illicit activities.

Managing Financial Investigations: This more advanced programme on  managing financial investigations  is primarily focused on participants with managerial or supervisory responsibility. The modules offered include leadership skills; effectively managing limited resources; international evidence; prosecutorial and investigative challenges; threats and risks assessments; illicit flows, including complex money laundering and the challenges of bribery and corruption cases; best practices and international initiatives.

VAT/GST Fraud: This Specialty Programme on Value Added Tax / Goods and Services Tax fraud is intended for investigators and/or managers with experience in the investigation and prosecution of VAT/GST frauds. The Programme explores the threats and risk assessment around various types of VAT/GST fraud, investigative techniques and their challenges and best practices, asset seizures and the money laundering issues associated with VAT/GST fraud, as well as prosecution challenges and best practices.

Asset Recovery: This Specialty Programme on Asset Recovery: Freezing and Seizing Assets is intended for investigators and/or managers with experience in freezing and seizing assets resulting from the investigation of tax crimes and other financial crimes. The Programme would provide an overview of the legal measures associated with asset recovery, explore the use of restraining orders, consider both conviction based and non-conviction based confiscation of assets from the proceeds of crime, and provide a snapshot of international asset recovery initiatives, as well as the challenges and best practices in this field.