The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is an international organization that facilitates cooperation and intelligence sharing between national financial intelligence units (FIUs) to investigate and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. National FIUs collect information on suspicious or unusual financial activity and are responsible for processing and analyzing the information received. FIUs are normally not law enforcement agencies themselves, findings are shared with appropriate law enforcement or prosecution bodies if sufficient evidence of unlawful activity is found. The Egmont Group is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[1]
The Egmont Group was formed in 1995 as an informal network of 24 national FIUs, taking its name from the Egmont Palace in Brussels where the group's founding meeting took place. The Egmont Group Secretariat established its permanent headquarters in Ottawa on 15 February 2008.[2][4]
The goal of the Egmont Group is to provide a forum for FIUs around the world to improve cooperation in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism and to foster the implementation of domestic programs in this field. The Egmont Group provides support to member FIUs by:
expanding and systematizing international cooperation in the reciprocal exchange of information
increasing the effectiveness of FIUs by offering training and promoting personnel exchanges to improve the expertise and capabilities of personnel employed by FIUs
fostering better and secure communication among FIUs through the application of technology, such as the Egmont Secure Web (ESW)
fostering increased coordination and support among the operational divisions of member FIUs
promoting the operational autonomy of FIUs
promoting the establishment of FIUs in conjunction with jurisdictions with an AML/CFT program in place, or in areas with a program in the early stages of development[5]
The US Treasury Department defines an FIU as "a central, national agency responsible for receiving (and, as permitted, requesting), analyzing and disseminating to the competent authorities, disclosures of financial information: concerning suspected proceeds of crime and potential financing of terrorism, or required by national legislation or regulation, in order to counter money laundering and terrorism financing."[6]
The current member FIUs of the group are:
Afghanistan – Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan (FinTRACA)
Albania – General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering (GDPML)
Algeria – Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTRF)
France – Traitement du renseignement et action contre les circuits financiers clandestins (TRACFIN)
Georgia – Financial Monitoring Service of Georgia (FMS)
Germany – Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) at the Central Customs Authority – Zentralstelle für Finanztransaktionsuntersuchungen bei der Direktion VIII (Zollkriminalamt) der Generalzolldirektion
Gibraltar – Gibraltar Co-ordinating Centre for Criminal Intelligence and Drugs – Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GCID GFIU)
Greece – Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Commission (HAMLC)
Grenada – Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)
Guatemala – Intendencia de Verificación Especial (IVE) Special Verification Intendency
Guernsey – Financial Intelligence Service (FIS)
Honduras – Unidad de Informacion Financiera (UIF)
Hong Kong – Joint Financial Intelligence Unit (JFIU)
Hungary – Central Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Hungarian Customs & Finance Guard Hungarian Financial Intelligence Unit
Iceland – Ríkislögreglustjórinn (RLS) Unit of Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime
Norway – ØKOKRIM / EFE – Enheten for finansiell etteretning The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime – The Money Laundering Unit
Slovakia – Spravodajská jednotka finacnej polície Úradu boja proti organizovanej kriminalite (SJFP UBPOK) Financial Intelligence Unit of the Bureau of Organised Crime
Slovenia – Urad RS za Preprecevanje Pranja Denarja Ministrstvo za Finance/Office for Money Laundering Prevention (OMLP)
South Africa – Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)
Spain – Servicio Ejecutivo de la Comisión de Prevención de Blanqueo de Capitales e Infracciones Monetarias (SEPBLAC)
Sri Lanka – Financial Intelligence Unit
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Financial Intelligence Unit
Saint Lucia – Financial Intelligence Agency
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Financial Intelligence Unit
Sweden – Finanspolisen Rikskriminalpolisen (FIPO) National Criminal Intelligence Service, Financial Unit (NFIS)
Switzerland – Meldestelle für Geldwäscherei, Bureau de communication en matière de blanchiment d'argent, Ufficio di comunicazione in materia di riciclaggio di denaro Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS)
Syria – Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Commission (CMLC)
The Egmont Groups admits governmental or intergovernmental organizations as non-member observers whose roles relate to preventing money-laundering and/or the financing of terrorism.[9] Several notable organizations are observers, including: