The Egmont Group Secretariat (EGS) seeks proposals from potential vendors to plan, develop, and train the EGS IT team to a Data Matching system that will allow Financial Intelligence Unites (FIUs) identify hits between subjects of interest of one FIU and those of another, without revealing the list of queried subjects to the other FIU. The successful candidate will be selected based on their experience and the appropriateness of their proposals in meeting the Egmont Group (EG) needs. The successful vendor will be required to develop the Matching system based on the requirements provided by the EGS.
Background
Information exchange is a valuable tool that supports international cooperation which helps to fight Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing amongst Egmont Group member FIUs. Currently, secure information exchange is mainly done manually through email messaging. The EG seeks to make the process more efficient by allowing FIUs that opt-in to query data from the databases of other FIUs (to ascertain the availability of) before sending a request for information. The EG has recently moved its IT system to the cloud. The EGS welcomes proposals for applications that can utilize the Azure Cloud as well as supporting the FIUs’ local infrastructure.
Guiding principles
- All FIUs should be treated equally. The solution must be implementable in FIUs with very diverse IT environments and different security policies.
- Security is key and is more important than usability / user friendliness of the IT solution.
- Only intended recipients of any communication can access the content. No third party, including service providers, administrators, or other bodies might have access.
- The solution should not require excessive efforts for FIUs to implement and actively use the solution.
- The IT solution should be future-proof and be able to include future EG requirements.
Baseline description
The solution shall enable FIUs to:
- identify hits between subjects of interest to one FIU and those of another, without revealing the list of queried subjects to the other FIU,
- make essential information available for the matching without sharing sensitive data,
- be in full control which data is used in such sharing processes,
- share within limited groups of users,
- facilitate follow-up processes to validate possible matches and initiating bilateral and/or multilateral information exchange using ESW.
Limits
- The decision if and to what degree FIUs use matching remains with the FIU only.
- Data transformation1 and matching are local processes. Only transformed data can leave the source. All non-transformed data remains at the source.
- EG provides enhanced/additional services on the current standardized interfaces. National components and services to connect to this system remain the sole responsibility of any FIU, including providing appropriate security and administration for national components.
Technical considerations
- The solution should be built on a privacy-by-design approach.
- The solution must use the current technical framework, especially the security design and Identity and Access management elements.
- A decentralized approach to foster data security should be at least optional.
- Automation should be supported for follow-up processes after a possible hit, fostering efficient processes for international collaboration.
Business Consideration
The chosen vendor is required to deliver a comprehensive IT Business Requirements Plan, which includes an analysis of the security, usability, and other impacts of the technological upgrades. Beyond this analysis, the vendor will collaborate with the ESW line structure to draft a thorough implementation plan covering the financial, governance, operational, and support aspects of the proposed technical solution. These documents must be submitted to the Heads of Financial Intelligence Unites (HoFIU) for their consideration.
Timelines
An overview of all the documents is expected to be ready by the first week of January 2025. Detailed documents are expected to be ready by end of March 2025 in preparation for the HoFIU approval in July. The candidate should mention the amount of time that is required to complete the project. Flexibility and openness for coordination are required considering the number of FIU members. Project implementation is expected to start July 2025 if the proposals are endorsed by the HoFIU in July 2025.
Budget
Interested vendors are asked to provide a breakdown of their fees and a payment schedule. A proposal of a project work plan with the specific number of days of effort for each deliverable.
Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:
- The vendor must successfully pass the security screening. Additional information may be required to complete the background check.
- Lowest responsive offer
- Proposed payment schedule
- Adherence to specifications and requirements
- Delivery commitments are exclusive and inclusive of the lowest price
- Qualifications and experience of the vendor
- Vendor’s compliance with instructions for submitting required documentation
Application Method
All submissions must be sent to matching[at]egmontsecretariat.org by November 6, 2024.
Subject line: EG Matching System
All proposals must be in ENGLISH.
Only the selected candidate will be approached for further contract-related negotiations and provided with the full Data Matching framework.
