DATACROS III

Through a combination of (i) data-driven tools, (ii) training, (iii) research and (iv) legal assessment, and building on the success of previous DATACROS actions, DATACROS III will further boost the capacity of European Union Law Enforcement Agencies, Asset Recovery Offices, Financial Intelligence Units, Anti-corruption, competition authorities and journalists to investigate transnational Organized Crime networks and their business models across a wider variety of financial domains and criminal assets. It will:

1. Expand the current DATACROS data-ecosystem with new sources which will allow tracing Organized Crime in (a) cross-border corporate structures, (b) public procurement and funds, (c) virtual currencies/assets, (d) bank accounts/transactions, (e)real estate and vehicles in 200+ countries; 
2. Implement new AI-driven functions for (a) better detection of high-risk entities and transactions, (b) more efficient disambiguation and reduction of false positives, (c) machine-learning analysis of unstructured text (e.g. news, public contracts) and images (e.g. satellite); 
3. Deploy the empowered toolbox (Technology Readiness Level= 9) and pilot it in 4 operational use cases; 
4. Set up a multi-stakeholder cooperation platform which will organise regular workshops (and an international conference in Bucharest) and 4 public training sessions for: (a) Law Enforcement Agencies/Asset Recovery Offices/Financial Intelligence Units; (b) public bodies and local governments; (c) banks and corporate; (d)journalists and civil society; 
5. Establish an Advisory Board of high-level experts and assess the costs, risks and benefits of using AI-tools in Organized Crime-related investigations and intelligence pictures;

Project results will be disseminated globally through various channels including investigative news stories made possible by the use of the toolbox and a dedicated Project Website. The consortium represents all target groups (academia, Small medium enterprises/Tech, Law Enforcement Agencies, Asset Recovery Offices, Financial Intelligence Units, Anti-corruption authorities, competition authorities, journalists and civil society). It involves 15 beneficiaries and 8 associate partners from 13 countries (11 European Union Member States) but covers 40+countries with partners’ national members.