The EIB, through the Inspectorate General Investigations Division, hosted from 1-3 June the 22nd Conference of International Investigators (CII). This year’s conference, organised as a hybrid event, welcomed 150 investigators from Multilateral Development Banks, International Financial Institutions, United Nations agencies and other international and European organisations participating in person, as well as over 450 remote participants to discuss issues of common concern in the field of investigations.
In today’s fast changing world investigation mandates and practices are faced with a variety of challenges, therefore this year’s theme concentrated on “Investigating in a Changing Climate”. In 6 plenary sessions, 12 thematic workshops and 8 open floor exchanges, topics like the blockchain, gold laundering, investigations of environmental projects, rights of access by stakeholders and analytical thinking in intelligence environments were discussed.
Addressing the audience, EIB President Werner Hoyer underlined the importance of ensuring that projects and operations are not impacted by fraud and corruption and that resources are used for supporting economies, creating jobs, promoting equality and improving lives for EU citizens and societies worldwide.
Inspector General Jan Willem van der Kaaij addressed the participants on several occasions during the conference, welcomed the keynote speaker and closed the event. He stressed that results are achieved only by strong and committed cooperation: internal cooperation with other departments within the organisation and external cooperation amongst investigative offices. He underlined the important role of the CII as a platform for exchanges.
The CII was established in 1999 as the primary forum for investigators of international organisations to exchange ideas on integrity issues, address challenges in fighting fraud, corruption, and other wrongdoing, and share new developments and leading practices.