In June 2019, the OECD and the National Tax Agency of Japan signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the OECD Asia-Pacific Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation in Wako, Japan.
The Asia-Pacific Academy programmes evolve to provide demand-driven training addressing the specific needs of countries in the Asia-Pacific region and building on experiences and best practices in tackling illicit financial flows. The curriculum include broad-based courses on conducting and managing financial crime investigations (including digital forensics), as well as targeted courses on combatting anti-money laundering, challenges around crypto assets, VAT/GST fraud, and asset recovery. The first programme was delivered in May 2019 and focussed on VAT/GST Fraud.
The Asia-Pacific Academy is housed at the Wako Campus of the National Tax College, part of the National Tax Agency of Japan.