Eurojust and partners urge financial probes from the outset in core crimes cases

• 2026-10-22
• News
• News Desk
• Source: Eurojust https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news/bringing-african-stakeholders-together-advance-accountability-core-international-crimes

A two-day symposium in Mauritius on 29 and 30 September concluded that financial investigations can yield both lead information and evidence for prosecuting core international crimes, according to the EU agency Eurojust. The meeting, organised by Eurojust's National Authorities Against Impunity project of the Genocide Prosecution Network with the Wayamo Foundation, gathered prosecutors and investigators from across Africa and Europe.

Key facts

What did participants conclude?

• The symposium on "financial investigations as a tool to advance accountability for core international crimes" was held in Mauritius on 29 and 30 September.
• It was organised by the National Authorities Against Impunity project of the Genocide Prosecution Network and Eurojust, with the Wayamo Foundation.
• It followed a high-level study visit by prosecutors from Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius and South Africa to The Hague in April 2026.
• Representatives from Botswana and Zambia also took part, alongside the International Criminal Court, the civil society groups The Sentry and REDRESS, and the Swedish, Dutch and British war crimes units.

According to Eurojust, the practitioners agreed that financial investigations can produce both leads and usable evidence when core international crimes are investigated and prosecuted. Such work can also help authorities identify, trace, freeze and recover assets, the agency said, including to support individual and collective reparations for the victims and survivors most affected.

Participants argued that financial investigations should ideally be built into a case from the very start rather than treated as a secondary line of inquiry. The symposium was a direct follow-up to the April 2026 study visit to The Hague by prosecutors from Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius and South Africa. Why involve European agencies?

Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, convened the meeting as part of its work on accountability for genocide and other core international crimes. The presence of the Swedish, Dutch and British war crimes units alongside African prosecutors points to cross-border cooperation between EU member states and partner countries in tracing the money behind such crimes. What happens next?

The symposium builds on the Genocide Prosecution Network's National Authorities Against Impunity project, which links prosecutors and investigators working on core international crimes. No further meeting or publication date was announced in the statement. Who took part?

The gathering brought together practitioners from the International Criminal Court, the civil society organisations The Sentry and REDRESS, and the Swedish, Dutch and British war crimes units. Prosecutors from Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius and South Africa, who had travelled to The Hague in April 2026, were joined by representatives from Botswana and Zambia, a participation Eurojust said enriched the exchange of experience and expertise.

Source: Eurojust