Local Prosecutor Brings African Cybercrime Delegation to Greensboro & Washington, D.C.

GREENSBORO – United States Attorney Sandra Hairston announced today that a delegation of African judges, prosecutors, and investigators arrived in Greensboro as part of an international exchange program. The visit is taking place from May 14 to 19, 2023, and will involve meetings with government officials, local law enforcement, and crime analysts with the goal of sharing information and strengthening transnational partnerships among the United States and multiple African governments.

The study visit was organized by Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Anand Ramaswamy, in his capacity as the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) Attorney Advisor for sub-Saharan Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT).  AUSA Ramaswamy has been detailed overseas as part of the U.S. Transnational High-Tech Crime Global Law Enforcement Network (GLEN) as an International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) attorney advisor focused on combating cybercrime.  The GLEN is a worldwide law enforcement capacity building network of ICHIP attorney advisors and others who deliver training and technical assistance to foreign law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial partners to combat intellectual property and cybercrime activity as well as to help strengthen foreign partners’ ability to collect and use electronic evidence to combat all types of crime, including transnational organized crime. The GLEN is a partnership between the U.S. Department of State, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), and the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT). INL provides the funding for the ICHIPs and their assistance activities, including this study tour. 

The objective of the GLEN is to promote the rule of law and to protect Americans from criminal threats emanating from abroad by delivering targeted training to encourage both immediate assistance as well as long-term institutional change. This assistance includes training workshops, legislative review, case-based mentoring, skills-development, and promoting institutional reform, such as the formation of specialized units to address these criminal threats. There are currently 12 ICHIP attorney advisors in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Panama City, Panama; Eurojust at The Hague; Bucharest, Romania; Zagreb, Croatia; Abuja, Nigeria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Hong Kong; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand; two global ICHIPs, based in the United States, one for dark web/cryptocurrency and the other focused on internet-based fraud/public health; as well as a Global Cyber Forensic Advisor based in Washington, DC.

AUSA Ramaswamy previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in Alamance, Orange, and Rockingham counties before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Middle District of North Carolina in 2007. During his tenure in the USAO, Ramaswamy prosecuted both national and international cybercrimes, online human trafficking and exploitation, and many other federal crimes. Since 2020, he has served the Department of Justice overseas as an ICHIP attorney advisor working to build a stronger international front against cybercrime.

The visit includes representatives from Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia. After spending Monday and Tuesday in Greensboro, delegates will travel to Washington, DC for the remainder of the visit.

Learn more about the ICHIP program, here.

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