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OTTAWA, Canada – The 25th annual Working and Regional Group (WG/RG) Meetings is taking place between January 27 and February 7, 2025. Over 800 Egmont Group (EG) representatives, international partners, and observers are participating in the virtual meetings this year.

As a global organization, the Egmont Group facilitates and encourages the exchange of information, knowledge, and cooperation among member Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). It provides a secure platform that allows members to share expertise and financial intelligence, thereby strengthening the global fight against money laundering (ML), related predicate offences, and terrorist financing (TF).

“This year’s virtual Working and Regional Group meetings will bring together dedicated participants to discuss many crucial topics for our member FIUs.” says Mrs. Elżbieta Franków-Jaśkiewicz, Chair of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. “The Working and Regional Groups Meetings allow our members the opportunity to foster communication, collaborate, and make decisions, ensuring we continue to enhance our information-sharing mechanisms to combat money laundering, associated predicate crimes, and terrorist financing effectively.”

The Egmont Group aims to strengthen the capabilities of its members by enhancing the sharing of information and expertise. The Group’s initiatives are driven by its four distinct Working Groups: The Information Exchange Working Group, the Membership, Support, and Compliance Working Group, the Policy and Procedures Working Group, and the Technical Assistance and Training Working Group. Each group has a specific mandate to support the FIUs of its members. Additionally, the Regional Groups play a crucial role in promoting development, cooperation, and the exchange of expertise at a regional level.

Delegates are navigating two busy weeks and working through a full agenda, collaborating on key projects and initiatives, including:

• Enhancing effective informal international cooperation – a project jointly conducted with our strategic partners FATF, INTERPOL and UNODC
• Revision of the Egmont Group Principles for Information Exchange between FIUs that will be jointly done by IEWG and PPWG
• Increasing FIUs’ effectiveness in the asset recovery process
• Tackling the illegal proceeds from environmental crimes
• Developing an IT tool that will allow all Egmont Group bodies and member FIUs to automate the analysis of questionnaires collected within the organization
• Receiving updates on new ML/TF risks, trends and methods identified by member FIUs
• Providing fora for the Egmont Group Observers to provide essential updates related to their activities
• Enhancing the internal and external communication of the different Working and Regional Groups
• Facilitating the discussion of the Egmont Group IT professionals related to IT business strategies and implementation of new technology in FIUs
• Working on training courses of different nature aiming to facilitate information exchange and creation of knowledge in FIUs, including by the establishment of an electronic library by TATWG and creating a repository of trainers working at FIUs and observer organizations. The Working Group is also willing to invest in fostering the cooperation with observer organizations when it comes to technical assistance and training. Lastly, the Working Group is pleased to be launching the Best Egmont Case Award (BECA) Competition in February.
• Preparations for the 31st Plenary and the 30-year celebration of the Egmont Group in Luxembourg including the thematic discussions planned for this event
• Two essential workshops related to the ESW and ECOFEL Certification Program
• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and West and Central Africa (WCA) regional groups during their virtual meetings next week will discuss the progress on the joint Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) research project.

The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units extends its heartfelt gratitude to the FIUs and participants who are partaking in this year’s meetings. The success of our initiatives relies heavily on the cooperation and commitment of all members and partners. It takes a collective effort to achieve our common goals of combating money laundering, associated predicate offences, and terrorist financing. The dedication shown by each participant strengthens our information-sharing networks and fortifies our joint resolve to address these global challenges effectively.

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Background:

FIUs annually receive thousands of suspicious transaction reports and other reports with links to other countries. Therefore, international partner collaboration is crucial and is the reason why, in 1995, facilitating and promoting information exchanges among FIUs formed the framework for today’s widely recognised and highly respected international organisation, the EG, currently consisting of 177 members and counting.

The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is a global organization formed by 177 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.

Media Contact:

Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units
Nina Camilleri
Communications Officer
communications@egmontsecretariat.org

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