Luxembourg – Marking the 30th Anniversary of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, the annual Egmont Group Plenary convened from July 6 to 11, 2025 this year. The milestone event was attended by around six hundred delegates from the Egmont Group member FIUs, international partners, and observers worldwide who participated and contributed to meetings and the Plenary in Luxembourg hosted by the Cellule de Renseignement Financier (CRF).
The Egmont Group was honoured to have international leaders attending the milestone event as speakers:
- Elisa de Anda Madrazo, President of the FATF
- Bruna Szego, Chair of AMLA
- Juan Manuel Vega Serrano, Vice-Chair of AMLA
- Laura Codruta Kovesi, European Chief Prosecutor and Head of the EPPO
- Brigitte Strobel-Shaw, representing the UNODC
The Egmont Group is also pleased to present that it now boasts 181 members following the acceptance of the FIUs from Mozambique, The Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, and Sierra Leone as members of the organisation. The EG continues to strengthen its membership through outreach efforts in geographic regions of strategic focus, including Africa, Asia and Pacific, and the Middle East and Northern Africa. During the event, 47 Memorandums of Understanding were signed by member FIUs, strengthening the opportunities for financial intelligence sharing on ML/TF matters. Additionally, a Letter of Agreement was signed between the Egmont Group and the Financial Monitoring Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, formalizing their collaboration under the Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership (ECOFEL) Certification Program and underscoring Azerbaijan’s commitment to international capacity building and knowledge exchange.
The Heads of FIU (HoFIU) convened to advance a number of strategic initiatives aimed at reinforcing the role of Financial Intelligence Units within the global AML/CFT framework.
Acknowledging the importance of autonomy and operational independence in positioning Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) as key drivers of effectiveness within their national AML/CFT systems, the Heads of FIU (HoFIU) endorsed a proposal to elevate these principles—previously outlined in internal guidance—to the level of formal expectations for all members, making them part of the Egmont Group’s core requirements. This step reflects our collective commitment to safeguarding the integrity and effectiveness of the global FIU network.
Additionally, in line with our ongoing commitment to strengthen secure collaboration across jurisdictions, the HoFIU have agreed to pursue enhancements of the ESW that will improve the ability to identify and connect relevant information for AML/CFT analysis—across jurisdictions—in a timely and effective manner, while maintaining strict safeguards around data confidentiality and access control.
Recognizing the importance of training and strong capabilities in today’s financial intelligence landscape, the HoFIU decided to strengthen its flagship capacity building program, ECOFEL, by endorsing a new funding approach to ensure its continued development and sustainability. This decision reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the global FIU community through targeted support and long-term planning, while aligning with evolving priorities and resource considerations.
The following projects received final HoFIU endorsement:
- Revision of the Egmont Group Principles for Information Exchange Between FIUs (Joint project with PPWG)
- Effective Informal International Cooperation (Joint project with FATF, Interpol and UNODC)
- Increasing FIUs’ Effectiveness in the Asset Recovery Process
- The Role of FIUs in Fighting Environmental Crimes
- Streamlined Data Integration for FIU Questionnaires (SDIFQ)
The organization selected Mr. Daniel Thelesklaf, Head of FIU Germany, as the new EG Vice-Chair for a two-year term. He is joining Ms. Elzbieta Franków-Jaśkiewicz, Chair and Mr. Mohammed Shahid Ahmed, Vice-Chair on our organization’s leadership team.
Throughout the week, additional important roles were selected for a two-year term ending after the 2027 EG Plenary, including:
- Ilit Ostrovitch Levi, FIU Israel, was selected as Chair of the Information Exchange Working Group.
- Michelle Morales, FinCEN-FIU USA, was selected as Vice-Chair of the Information Exchange Working Group.
- Fuad Aliyev, FIU Azerbaijan, was selected as Chair of the Membership, Support, and Compliance Working Group.
- Carl Ramagge, FIU Gibraltar, was selected as Vice Chair of the Policy and Procedures Working Group.
- R.J. Berry, FIU Cayman Islands, was selected as Vice Chair of the Technical Assistance and Training Working Group.
- Derly Lavertu, FINTRAC, was selected as Regional Representative for the Americas Regional Group.
- Shanmuga Priya, FIU India, was selected as Asia and Pacific Regional Representative.
- Eftasthios Tsirmpas, FIU Greece, was selected as Regional Representative for Europe I Regional Group.
- Ghizlane Dadyou, FIU Monaco, was selected as Regional Representative for Europe II Regional Group.
- Mohammad Al Muhanna, FIU Saudi Arabia, was selected as Regional Representative for the Middle East and Northern Africa.
The organization also selected three Egmont Secure Web board members who will serve a two-year term, until the end of the Egmont Group Plenary 2027:
- Roberto Edmundo Mendoza López, FIU El Salvador,
- Muhammad Jiya, FIU Nigeria, and
- Turki Mohammed Aljandal, FIU Saudi Arabia.
They will be joining Mr. Max Braun, FIU Luxembourg, Mrs. Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, FIU The Netherlands and Mr. Vikas Aswal, FIU India on the ESW Board.
Anti-Money Laundering Council (FIU Philippines) was voted as this year’s BECA recipient with a case that earned recognition due to the volume, case complexity, innovative financial intelligence methods and the developed international cooperation network. Honourable mention goes to 2025 BECA runner-up the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU India) for their successful case contribution.
The 2025 Plenary marks a significant milestone—the 30th Anniversary of the Egmont Group. To commemorate this occasion, the HoFIU decided to designate June 9th as the International Day of the FIU. This date honors the founding of the Egmont Group at the Egmont Palace in Brussels in 1995. The HoFIU formally approved the declaration during the Plenary week, with celebrations to begin annually starting in 2026.
Other highlights of the 30th anniversary Egmont Plenary include:
- Many delegates participated in the Best Egmont Case Award (BECA) Workshop, as well as in operational training sessions including the ECOFEL Workshop, the Egmont Secure Web Workshop, and the Joint Information Exchange/Technical Assistance and Training Working Groups Operational Training.
- Among other deliverables, during the joint session, IEWG and TATWG presented an engaging video on the topic of the Abuse of Virtual Assets for Terrorist Financing Purposes.
In addition to the working groups, meetings and training sessions traditionally organized during the plenary week, the hosting FIU, Cellule de Renseignement Financier (CRF), offered extra thematic workshops throughout the week. The aim of these thematic workshops was to provide a space for reflection and discussion on more operational topics and included:
- Workshop on operational Public-Private Partnerships
- Five workshops on data analysis:
- It tools
- Operational analysis
- Strategic analysis
- Joint analysis
- One workshop in French
- Asset Recovery Workshop (by the Council of Europe)
The Egmont Group would like to express appreciation to its Observers and International Partners for their continuous support and cooperation, including the valuable presentations and updates from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), European Commission, EUROPOL Financial Intelligence Public Private Partnership (EFIPPP), Financial Action Task Force (FATF), GAFILAT, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), including an update from the GlobE Network, and the World Customs Organization (WCO), shared during the meetings. Special thanks also go to UNODC and INTERPOL for their support during the training sessions.
The Egmont Group thanks FIU Luxembourg for extending a warm welcome as hosts of the 30th Anniversary Egmont Plenary in Luxembourg. The Egmont Group appreciates the time and effort invested in planning the event and is pleased with the success achieved this year. Congratulations to the Head of FIU Luxembourg, Max Braun and his team for organizing a successful event!
FIUs are indispensable in the fight against financial crimes. Their ability to collect, analyze, and share financial intelligence makes them a cornerstone of effective AML/CFT regimes worldwide. We thank our member FIUs for their commitment and dedication to ensuring a safer and more secure financial landscape, where illicit activities are detected, deterred, and disrupted, safeguarding the integrity of the global financial system for the benefit of all.
Luxembourg,
July 15, 2025
Background:
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is a global organization formed by 181 member FIUs established to facilitate and prompt the exchange of information, knowledge, and cooperation among its members. The Egmont Group focuses on three core activities. Firstly, its secure Information exchange platform promotes operational cooperation among members. Secondly, the Egmont Group provides capacity-building opportunities through its structure of working groups along with its Capacity Building Program (ECOFEL). Thirdly, the Egmont Group enhances shared knowledge and expertise among members by regularly producing typology reports, red flags, and indicators.
Further Egmont Group information and a list of Egmont member FIUs can be found at egmontgroup.org.
