After a long period of meeting over Zoom, the TRACE consortium was finally able to meet in person to discuss the progress of TRACE project over the last ten months. The hybrid meeting (online and in person) took place on the 11th and 12th of April in Lisbon and was hosted by NOVA School of Law (NSL).
As organised crime networks operate across borders, use legal loopholes and advanced technology, it is notoriously difficult to detect, and trace hidden and illicit money flows (IMFs). The TRACE project unifies the knowledge and expertise of seventeen partners from across Europe with the aim to co-create innovative data management solutions with AI analytics. The TRACE solution will support law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and enhance their capabilities in tracing and recovering IMFs along with generating court admissible e-evidence. The TRACE project meeting in Lisbon gave partners the opportunity to discuss the progress of each work package, what is coming up for the project and discuss the next six-months.
The first session on 11 April focused on the progress of all launched work packages and the upcoming kick-off of others. It was concluded that all deliverables are very much on track. The second session on 12 April consisted of a discussion between the TRACE consortium and the Stakeholder and Ethics Advisory Board. The discussion consisted of ways in which the advisory board could support the TRACE consortium during meetings and result dissemination, involving institutional partners and making the confidentiality of TRACE results clear. Risk management and ethics were also discussed during the second session with topics ranging from principles, potential ethical risks, data usage ethics and the TRACE legal framework – fundamental rights, data protection and legal assessment. Furthermore, the LEA user requirements were revealed following the TRACE survey conducted in the last several months. The consortium was also able to touch upon its participation in the European Commission’s Policy Briefing Event taking place in Brussels in the coming months and upcoming dissemination activities. The two-day meeting concluded with a discussion regarding a review of actions and what the next six months look like for TRACE.
The Lisbon meeting was a wonderful opportunity for partners to get together and share in their progress and excitement towards the achievements and future of TRACE. The next in person meeting will be hosted on the 12th and 13th of September and will take place in Tallin, Estonia.
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Author – Trilateral Research
