Interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev met Birgitte Strobel-Scholl of the GlobE Network secretariat in Austria to discuss closer international cooperation against corruption and the hiding of illegal assets, the interior ministry said.

GlobE Network is the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities. It works under the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

The two discussed how countries can work together against corruption, financial crime and the hiding of illegally gained property. They also talked about how police and other agencies could make more use of the network's tools: direct contacts between investigators, fast sharing of information and help with cases that span several countries.

They paid special attention to tracing illegal assets, including those moved through complex international financial structures and cryptocurrencies. They also discussed how new technology can make financial investigations more successful.

Demerdzhiev said corruption increasingly crosses borders and is directly linked to organised crime and money laundering. He said this calls for strong national institutions and quick links between countries, so that offenders cannot exploit differences in legal systems.

"Our goal is for international anti-corruption standards to produce real results – effective investigations and tracing of criminal money flows," the minister said. He added that the aim is also to limit the ways of hiding illegal assets.

The meeting was part of Demerdzhiev's working visit to Austria. In Vienna, at the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, he called for stronger international cooperation against organised crime.