March 28, 2022
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) is deeply concerned by the devastating effects of the current military aggression against Ukraine.
International cooperation is crucial for mitigating evolving financial crime risks and suppressing terrorist financing. Understanding crime and its patterns is a universal need among all anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) stakeholders across the globe. The Egmont Group was formed as a non-political, secure platform to facilitate international AML/CFT cooperation between financial intelligence units. Considering the Egmont Group’s membership includes 167 FIUs worldwide, FIU-to-FIU cooperation and sharing of insights can have a significant impact on a global scale.
The Egmont Group Charter and Egmont Group Principles for Information Exchange reiterate how cross-border FIU cooperation contributes to the success of the global ML/TF fight and how it increases individual FIU effectiveness also. Moreover, these Egmont Group core documents outline how effective international cooperation between FIUs must be based on mutual trust.
Trust is essential to the Egmont Group. We build trust among members by promoting and remaining firm on FIUs’ operational independence and autonomy, integrity, transparency, and accountability. Situations like the one currently taking place in Ukraine hamper the essential foundation of mutual trust among Egmont Group member jurisdictions and negatively affect the success of joint AML/CFT efforts.
The Egmont Group aligns its position with the FATF’s Public Statement on the Situation in Ukraine. We urge FIUs to remain vigilant and continue information exchanges to assess and mitigate any emerging ML/TF/PF risks, fostering relations based on mutual trust, and their instrumental domestic work through partnerships with competent authorities.
The Egmont Group joins international partners in closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and supports all efforts to promote, support, and facilitate bilateral and multilateral exchanges of operational and strategic FIU information between FIUs, including extended cooperation with the private sector and other domestic authorities, which, in turn, helps ensure the security, safety, and integrity of the global financial system.
The EG stands in solidarity with all those in pain due to this aggression.
Hennie Verbeek-Kusters
Chair of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units
For more information:
- Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units Charter
- Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units Principles for Information Exchange Between Financial Intelligence Units
- The ECOFEL’s paper on Understanding FIU Operational Independence and Autonomy
- FATF Public Statement on the Situation in Ukraine
- FATF Recommendations
