The first contact opportunity between Ukrainian law-enforcement bodies and their foreign counterparts appeared in 1990 in the framework of Interpol via structures of the USSR. By Order (№338, April 7, 1990) of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a National Central Bureau of Interpol was created in the USSR. By the beginning of 1991, independent membership for Ukraine in Interpol was already being discussed. However, due to a lack of funds and the vertical dependence on the USSR, it was not possible to carry out these ideas.

    After Ukraine declared independence at the end of 1992, the government of Ukraine addressed the General Secretariat with a request to accept Ukraine into Interpol (Cabinet of the Ministers Order № 555 from 303.09.92) and allocated the necessary funds for this purpose. This application was approved and at the 61-st General assembly of Interpol in Decar (November 4-10, 1992) Ukraine was accepted into the organization.

    Since then, concrete organizational measures have been carried out. In January 1993, telefax and telex systems were installed for communication with the General Secretariat and in November 12, 1993 by an order of the Cabinet of Ministers a working group of 6 people was created for cooperation with Interpol.

    On March 25, 1993 the Cabinet of the Ministers issued order №220 confirming “The National Central Interpol Bureau of Ukraine (NCB)”. According to the order, the interaction between law-enforcement agencies of Ukraine with their foreign counterparts on issues of international crime will be handled only through the National Central Bureau of Interpol. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) provides the authority to the NCB administration and its current total of 45 employees. By the Order of the Minister on February 1995, Ukrainian Interpol Bureau Groups were created in the Regional MIA offices in the Crimean Republic, oblasts, and the cities Kiev and Sevastopol.

    The NCB is assigned the following basic tasks:

    · Coordination of activity with state law-enforcement agencies in international crime, or crime which leaves the oversteps the boundaries of the state;

    · Provision of interaction with the General Secretariat and appropriate state agencies of Interpol members in struggle against crime;

    · Monitoring of international crime in Ukraine and crime which threatens Ukrainian citizens abroad.

    The interaction between the NCB and the General Secretariat has developed rather successfully. In addition to daily contact on specific working questions, cooperation has been achieved via Ukrainian participation in conferences, assemblies, symposiums focusing on various issues of crime and methodology. The NBC as also received technical help from the General Secretariat. The most significant step by General Secretariat in the modernization of the Ukrainian bureau was the establishment of an Х.400 email system in October 1995. The equipment for this system was provided free-of-charge and installed by General Secretariat experts.

    Interaction between the NCB and law-enforcement agencies of Ukraine

    The activity of the NCB naturally carries interagency character. In order to regulate the interagency process, “The Order of Relations with the Central Interpol Bureau of Ukraine and other State Agencies” (MIA Order №600-95) and regulations on the prevention, disclosing and investigation of crimes (General Order № 3/1/2/5/2/2/-97) were issued. Since February 1995, regional groups of the Ukrainian Interpol Bureau have been established through the regional MIA offices in every region of Ukraine. Employees are fluent in at least on of the working languages of Interpol and have all completed extensive training and attended workshops at the Interpol NCB.

    The interaction between the NCB, the State Customs Service, the Security Service, the State Committee on Borders, and the State Tax Administration of Ukraine is carried out according to the Interagency Order of the MIA, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the Security Service, the State Committee on Borders, State Customs Service, and the State Tax Administration № 3/1/2/5/2/2, 09.01.1997. This order regulates the use of law-enforcement agencies by the NCB in the prevention, disclosing and investigation of crimes. According to the regulation, the NCB coordinates cooperation between law-enforcement bodies of Ukraine and foreign counterparts and provides an opportunity for an exchange of intelligence assistance on criminal activities and criminals; exchange of work experience, legislative and other normative acts, methodology and other information about the activities of law-enforcement bodies.

    The regulations, which were prepared in agreement with Ukraine’s law “On the Militia”, “On Intelligence Activities”, “On Organized Legal Basis for the Struggle Against Organized Crime”, the rule on the National Interpol Bureau of Ukraine, the Charter of the International Organization of Criminal Police, determine that the law-enforcement bodies of Ukraine refer to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the Security Service, the Committee on Borders, the Customs Service, and the Tax Administration of Ukraine.

    NCB provides cooperation between law-enforcement bodies of Ukraine and foreign countries both in whole, and in separate direction of struggle with criminality and gives opportunity for:

    · Preparing and sending initiative questions abroad;

    · Preparing and sending responses to foreign law-enforcement agencies;

    · Exchange of intelligence and criminal information about criminal activities and persons involved in them, including historical and, on occasion, remedial information;

    · Exchange of work experience, legislative and other normative acts, methodological literature on the activities of law-enforcement agencies;

    · Exchange of related scientific and technical information.

    SOME OF THE BUREAU’S WORK FOR THE PERIOD OF ITS EXISTENCE (1993-1999) AND PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE DEVELOPMENT:

    The cooperation between Interpol and foreign law-enforcement agencies in the prevention, disclosing and investigation of international crimes   intensively developed during this period. Information interchange and other forms of interaction with law-enforcement bodies from 137 countries around the world have reached more than 210 thousand (1993 -8940, 1994 - 19386, 1995 - 23885, 1996 -35973, 1997 - 50558, 1998 - 60500, 1999 - 12500). From the total of international questions, messages and investigation assignments, which have been processed in the Ukrainian Interpol from 1993 to 1998:

· 12914 – crimes against people;

· 12240 – economic crimes;

· 34093 – crimes connected to vehicle thefts;

· 1467 – drugs trafficking;

· 152372 - other crimes and inquires.

    The most intensive interaction occurred with law-enforcement agencies of Poland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Denmark, Romania, Norway, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, USA, Canada, and Great Britain.

    Through working with Interpol, 468 wanted persons were found. 322 were investigated by Ukraine’s law-enforcement agencies and found abroad and 146 persons were investigated by foreign colleagues and found in Ukraine. In 6 years, more than 50 persons were located and handed over to foreign law-enforcement agencies (Latvia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Russian Federation, USA and other states). 56 missing citizens of Ukraine were returned by the law-enforcement agencies of the Czech Republic, Russia, Poland, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Latvia and some other states. Ukriane’s law-enforcement bodies uncovered nearly 1,150 vehicles that had been stolen abroad. 90 missing persons were found. 22 corpses and 2326 persons were identified. These practical results achieved over 6 years testify to the necessity of further development of international cooperation in preventing and investigating crimes.

    In 1993 together with law-enforcement agencies in Germany, illegal trade in radioactive isotopes was discovered. In this case, the inhabitants of Zhitomir area took isotopes from Saarbruken and sold them to a German firm. That same year, illegal activity was uncovered between two German firms, which under the guise of chemical reactives and mineral fertilizers, were delivering industrial toxic waste to Ukraine.

    In 1994, the Ukrainian Interpol Bureau together with law-enforcement agencies of Ukraine and Germany carried out an operation at Borispol International Airport. 6,4 kg of cocaine was seized from a Colombian citizen, first seizure of so-called “heavy” drugs in Ukraine.

    Via information received through Interpol communications, the highly dangerous criminal, Polish citizen R. Kvek, was found in Ukraine. Accused of 17 counts of murders in different European countries, he was searched for simultaneously by the police of Poland, Netherlands and Germany.

    In 1996, together with law-enforcement agencies of Germany, an operation was conducted to uncover the path of heroin delivery in Ukraine. A parcel containing heroine was sent from Thailand and was addressed to a citizen of Nigeria living in Kharkov. As a result of operation, the heroin delivery route in Ukraine was uncovered and two citizens of Nigeria were arrested.

    Thanks to the joint efforts of law-enforcement entities of Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Israel, the dangerous criminal Vakulenko was found in Hungary and delivered to law-enforcement bodies of our country. Vakulenko was wanted by the MIA of Ukraine in the Lugansk area. He was one of the leaders of a organized criminal group, which during 1992-1995 carried out more 40 serious crimes: murders, armed assaults, extortion, etc.

    In 1997, during interaction with law-enforcement bodies of the Czech Republic, the illegal activity of an organized criminal group headed by a Ukrainian citizen Z. V. Matseha was halted. The criminal gang stole one million grivna worth of agricultural products that led to losses in the Pension Fund of Ukraine. On the bases of legal assistance, citizen Matseha was handed over to law-enforcement bodies of Ukraine.

    In 1998 Ukrainian citizen M. D. Timenkov was wanted by the MIA of Ukraine in the Odessa area for ordering contract killings and then fleeing the country. Through connections with Interpol, the Ukrainian Interpol Bureau located the criminal in Israel. With the help of their Israeli colleagues, Timenkov has been returned to Ukraine to stand trial.

    In cooperation with colleagues from the Manchester police (England), two stolen paintings from the Poltava Art Museum worth more than one   million pounds were found: “Still Life with Crabs” (1612, K. Peters), “Turkish Night Battle with Crusaders in 1204” (Unknown painter from the school of E. Delacroix, XIX century). Within the framework of intelligence cooperation, MIA employees of Ukraine participated in the investigation. On December 1998 the cultural valuables were returned in Ukraine.

    A priority for the NCB remains the struggle against criminals in sphere of external economic activity, the fuel and energy complex, especially      concerning operations in the industrial and agriculture complex, and credit-financial and bank systems. The general flow of information connected with questions of economic crime has increased considerably. In 1993, related issues did not exceed 5-7%, while in 1998 it has grown to more than 12%. As a result of measures taken in 1994, it was possible to warn against the attempted loss to the state of a total of one billion dollars of counterfeit bonds given by criminals abroad from a named Ukrainian financial group. In 1995, approximately 4 million dollars and more than one million DM that had been illegally transferred to banks in the Netherlands and Latvia were returned to Ukraine. In 1996, 38 thousand DM that had been illegally transferred to accounts in foreign banks were returned to their Ukrainian owners.

    The most important criminal businesses, on which law-enforcement agencies of other countries cooperated, were the following:

    · Extreme abuse and plunder of state property by officials of state organizations and commercial structures, especially the opening and use of foreign currency accounts for dealings by the workers of “Scientific” agro-industrial firm;

    · Abuse of official office and powers by the economic board of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine and the extreme plunder of state property by officials of “GHP Corporation” (Kiev representative – I.O. Polozentsev)

    · Abuse of official office and powers and tax evasion by the heads of the firm “KUB” (“Unified Power Systems of Ukraine”).

    In addition to economic crimes, other priorities for the NCB were interregional crimes involving firearms and explosives, drug trafficking, illegal migration and vehicle thefts.

    A conventional but important forms of cooperation, falling under the framework of the International Organization of Police (of Interpol) is participation in conferences, assemblies, and symposiums on various aspects of the struggle against crime which are annually offered by General Secretariat. Since 1993, employees of the Ukrainian Interpol Bureau together with the representatives of other law-enforcement entities of Ukraine have taken part in the all-European regional conferences and General Assemblies of Interpol. In addition, annually MIA delegations from Ukraine take part in international symposiums, seminars, assemblies, conferences and working meetings aimed at combating international crime, which occur under the aegis of Interpol. Results of this work include the practical application of foreign colleagues’ experience by Ukraine’s law-enforcement agencies. After participation in 1996 in a international conference on computer crimes, a national advisory office was created on problems of computer crimes at the NCB of Ukraine. Office employees provide consulting on computer crimes and criminals according to the Criminal Codes of Ukraine.

    The important activity of the Ukrainian bureau is the analysis of data. During 1993-1999, the employees of the Ukrainian bureau of Interpol, prepared 30 state-of-the-art analyses on the problems of combating international crime, experience of police in foreign states in the battle against drug trafficking, vehicle theft, economic crimes, etc. These reports were given for practical use to the MIA of Ukraine, interested services and other international agencies.

    Technical maintenance was carried out for the Ukrainian Interpol bureau. A local area network and a Х.400 e-mail server was created for the Interpol NCB of Ukraine which facilitated access to the information resources of General Secretariat. Information technology at the NCB was upgraded. This work resulted in the modernization of information processing; the organization of interagency information exchange, creation and improvement of the existing automated subsystems, and also support of existing databases. Since the creation of the Ukrainian bureau, the following databases have been created, “Document circulation”, “Persons”, “Transport”, “Firms”, “Numbered items”, “Cultural valuables”, “Deported persons”. These databases currently include more than 550 thousand entries. According to the Interpol standards, new data entry is transferred on a daily basis.

    Today, as a result of joint work with the ministry services, MIA Regional Departments, Office of the Public Prosecutor, Security Service, Customs Service, Committee on Borders, and Tax Administration of Ukraine, a MIA strategic plan has been developed for the Interpol NCB of Ukraine for the years 1997-2000. It provides the basic areas of activity as the NCB and contains extensive plans for each of these areas, including concrete approaches for existing problems.