Alumni in Focus

Mr. B. Ouattara

Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering - May 2019

In the later part of May, the RTC hosted participants from Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Togo, as well as instructors from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), for an Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering training. It was great to welcome back an alumnus from Cote D’Ivoire who had previously attended an RTC training. He was happy to share his experience with the alumni community. Let’s hear what he has to say!

Briefly introduce yourself to include information on your law enforcement career.

My name is Benjamin and I am a Commandant of the Military Police in Ivory Coast. I also work as the Director of Judicial Investigations at the Research Department of the Military Police.

How do you intend to utilize and apply the RTC knowledge and skills acquired in your career?

The knowledge and skills that I have acquired from this training will help boost my competence. I intend to share this knowledge with my colleagues, and I expect to also be more efficient in handling my investigations. I will first of all organize colleagues in my unit and teach them what I have learnt, so that collectively, we can apply the knowledge and achieve the needed results.

Can you share some of the memories from your previous RTC Course?

In 2017, I attended the Interviewing Techniques course at the RTC. This course helped me improve my listening skills which greatly enhanced my interviewing techniques, especially when I am interviewing habitual offenders. The course also helped me get a better understanding of the concept of criminal hideouts, and how to gather information and preserve evidence ahead of court hearings. Thanks to RTC courses, I have received knowledge in areas that are relevant to my career expansion and personal growth.

How has the RTC knowledge and skills helped you to work successful cases?

The knowledge I acquired at the RTC has helped me make many arrests, mostly involving dangerous individuals who are harmful to the population. Most of these included threat cases and large-scale scam cases.

More specifically, in February 2018, I worked on a case which involved an individual who gave death threats to a family because of their assets.  Thanks to the RTC techniques applied, an initial arrest was made through an investigation I led.

Also, in January 2019, another arrest was made involving an individual who was carrying out large-scale fraudulent activities. The accused is currently in custody at the MACA (Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction d'Abidjan) in Abidjan. The accused has been found to be the object of many digital investigations and has been under research for the past 3 years.

The skills and knowledge acquired at the RTC has helped me efficiently solve many more successful cases. I am extremely grateful to the RTC leadership for the opportunity to add more knowledge and tools to my toolbox.

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