CBI Conducts Workshop With US Department Of Justice On Mutual Legal Assistance And Extradition

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with the United States Department of Justice, organized a workshop on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) and Extradition Matters. The workshop was organized at CBI Headquarters in New Delhi in a hybrid mode with participation of officers from across all States/ UTs and Central law enforcement organizations.

During the workshop, the features of MHA online portal for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters were detailed. This portal has significantly improved the timelines involved in processing International Letters of Request (ILORs) and facilitated ease of drafting requests.

The workshop involved exchange of feedback between Indian and U.S. practitioners on expediting assistance, better understanding relevant legal frameworks with a view to meet each others’ requirements. The means of combating international crimes, criminals and proceeds of crimes via expeditious international cooperation were deliberated.

The U.S. delegation was headed by Mr Jeffrey M Olson, Associate Director, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice and included Special Agents and attorneys from FBI and U.S. Department of Justice.

The workshop aims to enhance international cooperation in combating transnational crimes and better leveraging of legal frameworks for mutual assistance and extradition. The rising primacy of digital evidence has increased reliance on foreign located evidence for preventing, investigating and prosecuting crimes.