18 May 2026, Bishoftu-Ethiopia: The IGAD Security Sector Program (IGAD SSP) successfully concluded a three-day National Judicial Training on Financing of Terrorism, Money Laundering, and Technology-Enabled Crimes: Strengthening Judicial Capacity through Intelligence-Led Policing and Inter-Agency Cooperation.
The training was held against the backdrop of evolving security threats across the Horn of Africa, where terrorism financing, money laundering, human trafficking, Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and technology-enabled crimes continue to pose complex challenges to justice and security institutions. In this context, the role of the judiciary has become increasingly critical in ensuring that complex security cases are handled with technical competence, fairness, and respect for the rule of law.
A total of 41 senior Ethiopian judges, comprising 30 male and 11 female participants, took part in the training, which aimed to strengthen their capacity to adjudicate complex cases involving terrorism financing, money laundering, technology-enabled crimes, Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and human trafficking through financial intelligence, digital evidence, asset recovery, and inter-agency cooperation.
The initiative forms part of IGAD’s continued efforts to support Member States in addressing evolving transnational security threats. IGAD SSP continues to promote regional cooperation on counterterrorism, organised crime, maritime security, cyber-enabled crimes, financial crimes, and other transnational security threats, with emphasis on criminal intelligence sharing, legal harmonisation, and institutional capacity building.
For the Horn of Africa, this work is particularly urgent, timely and important as the region faces interconnected security challenges in which terrorism financing, illicit financial flows, human trafficking, cross-border criminal networks, Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and online platforms can reinforce one another. These threats do not stop at national borders, and their investigation and prosecution often involve complex financial records, digital evidence, intelligence-led investigations, and cooperation among multiple institutions. Strengthening judicial capacity is therefore essential not only for effective adjudication, but also for protecting due process, human rights, and public confidence in justice institutions.
The training was officially opened on 15 May 2026, with remarks from Mrs. Nejat Abdulrahman, Head of the IGAD Security Sector Program; Mr. Siraj Abdella, Director of IGAD Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; H.E. Mrs. Lalise Deselegne, President of the Federal High Court of Ethiopia; H.E. Ambassador Guillermo Antonio López Mac-Lellan, Ambassador of Spain to Ethiopia; and Commander Abebe Muluneh, Director of the IGAD Peace and Security Division.
In her remarks, Mrs. Nejat Abdulrahman highlighted the importance of the training, emphasizing that judicial institutions remain central to ensuring that security responses and interventions are anchored in legality, due process, human rights, and judicial independence. Furthermore, she underscored that well-informed, well-connected, and well-equipped judiciary is one of the most powerful tool to address the threats.
Day One of the training focused on the foundations of the threat landscape, legal frameworks, and intelligence-led investigations. Sessions examined the conceptual and operational links between terrorism financing, money laundering, and technology-enabled crimes, including how terrorist and criminal networks exploit formal banking systems, informal remittance channels, trade-based laundering, charities, mobile money, cryptocurrencies, and digital platforms.
Participants also explored Ethiopia’s exposure to domestic, regional, and transnational money laundering and terrorism financing risks, as well as relevant international instruments, including the Financial Action Task Force recommendations and United Nations Security Council resolutions 1267,1373, and 2462. The day further addressed the role of judges in counterterrorism efforts and the transition from intelligence to admissible evidence, including financial intelligence, suspicious activity reports, beneficial ownership tracing, correspondent banking analysis, and the judicial oversight required in intelligence-led policing.
Day Two focused on evidence, oversight, and inter-agency cooperation. The sessions provided practical engagement on financial evidence, terrorist fund tracing, trade-based money laundering indicators, bank records, and the admissibility and probative value of financial intelligence reports in complex security cases.
The training also examined digital evidence and technology-enabled crimes, including device data, network logs, metadata, social media, encrypted communications, dark-web material, cryptocurrency transaction analysis, AI-generated content, and deepfakes. Participants discussed legal standards for authentication, chain of custody, integrity of digital evidence, encryption, anonymisation tools, and cross-border data requests.
Further sessions addressed judicial oversight of special investigative and surveillance techniques, including interception, undercover operations, controlled deliveries, safeguards against unlawfully obtained evidence, and the protection of constitutional rights during counterterrorism initiatives. The day concluded with discussions on domestic and international cooperation mechanisms on money laundering and terrorism financing, including information sharing, mutual legal assistance, asset recovery cooperation, and coordination among law enforcement, financial, regulatory, and judicial institutions.
On Day Three, participants focused on the adjudication of complex multi-jurisdictional security cases, asset recovery, and the development of judicial outputs. Through a moot-court simulation, participants applied case management principles to complex and document-heavy security trials, including cases involving joint and conspiracy charges, foreign evidence, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and international arrest warrants.
The final technical sessions addressed asset freezing, seizure, confiscation, and recovery in security-related proceedings. Participants reviewed international and national asset recovery trends, procedural steps for provisional orders under Ethiopian law, conviction-based and non-conviction-based confiscation standards, evidentiary thresholds, and the protection of third-party rights. The training also included working group discussions on recommendations, policy briefs, cooperation mechanisms, and practical pathways for strengthening judicial responses to complex security threats.
The training concluded with a certificate award session, recognising the efforts, active participation and successful completion of the training by the senior judges. The certificates reflected the strengthening of a professional community of judicial actors better equipped to handle complex cases where security, technology, finance, intelligence, and the rule of law intersect.
During the closing session, Mrs. Nejat Abdulrahman, Head of the IGAD Security Sector Program; H.E. Mr. Mitiku Mada, Vice President of the Federal High Court of Ethiopia; and H.E. Mrs. Lalise Deselegne, President of the Federal High Court of Ethiopia, highlighted the value of the programme in equipping judges with the knowledge and practical tools needed to adjudicate complex security cases with fairness, technical competence, and respect for the rule of law. They further called on all participants to use the knowledge and skills gained and the network created during the three days in their work going forward.
The training strengthened professional exchange, institutional collaboration, and shared understanding among judicial actors involved in addressing evolving security threats, reaffirming IGAD’s commitment to supporting Member States in building resilient institutions across the Horn of Africa.
The National Judicial Training was generously supported by the Government of Spain.
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