largest association dedicated to thwarting terrorist money transactions, known as The Egmont Group.
The Egmont Group: A Global Network Combatting Financial Crimes
The Egmont Group, established in 1995 by CTIF-CFI (Belgium) and FinCEN (US), is an international network of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) dedicated to the prevention of financial crimes, with a primary focus on fighting against terrorist financing and money laundering. With over 150 members worldwide, including FINTRAC and FinCEN, the Egmont Group forms a global financial network that prioritizes maintaining high standards to ensure AML compliance among its units.
The Egmont Group's strategic plan for the years 2018-2021 emphasized several key goals. First and foremost, the plan aimed to enhance collaboration and information sharing among members, fostering a more effective global response to financial crimes. To achieve this, the Egmont Group intended to expand its membership and partnerships with global organizations, strengthening its analytical and operational capabilities.
In addition, the plan promoted capacity building through training and technology improvements. The Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership (ECOFEL) was established to help achieve this objective, aiming to strengthen members' capabilities and improve their performance in the fight against financial crimes.
The annual intersessional meetings with the Egmont Committee address administrative and operational issues, while the Egmont Committee's Working Groups focus on legal aspects within the Egmont Group, communication, potential FIU candidate approval, cooperation between divisions, development of studies on various subjects, and improvements on technical assistance regarding IT systems.
One of the objectives in the 2018-2021 Strategic Plan is to expand members' knowledge on current financial changes. To this end, the Egmont Group has been actively seeking new partnerships, particularly in the Asian and African regions.
For precise and up-to-date details about their strategies or new developments beyond 2021, it is recommended to consult the Egmont Group's official publications or website directly. The Egmont Group remains the only global organization actively working to unite countries in preventing terrorist financing and other financial crimes, providing a stable communication platform between its members to support their governments in combating these financial crimes.
The Egmont Group, being a global network, also collaborates with other business entities to share general-news and crime-and-justice related information, ensuring that its Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) are well-informed about financial changes within the broader economic landscape.
In the pursuit of maintaining high standards and enhancing its operational capabilities, the Egmont Group has established partnerships beyond its member FIUs, extending its network into the Asian and African regions, thereby broadening its scope in the finance sector.
