EU AML/CFT Global Facility

BO discussion series : Registers, Targeted Financial Sanctions and Asset Tracing
2022-07-07
The second iteration of the BO Discussion Series of the EU Global Facility will focus on “BO Registers, Targeted Financial Sanctions and Asset Tracing. The work towards Global Asset Registries”.
This virtual workshop aims to present the challenges to obtain beneficial ownership information on assets to enforce sanctions and to tackle money laundering.
During the event, discussions will be held on policy measures to tackle those challenges and to improve beneficial ownership transparency on assets based on the experiences of country authorities and other stakeholders including the private sector and civil society organisations.

E-workshop on BO Register Implementation and the Control and Verification Mechanisms for Jamaica
2022-07-06 - 2022-07-08 | Jamaica, Jamaica
Our Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership Alexandre Taymans moderated the first of two online workshops titled “Setting-up a BO Register : a focus on operational considerations, control and verification mechanisms” today.
Delivered to the Companies Office of Jamaica and the Central Bank of Jamaica the activity is designed to provide participants with first hand practical and workable information on how a Beneficial Ownership Register can be set-up as well as the ways in which control and mechanisms should be established to ensure that the BO information held in the register is accurate and up-to-date.
This activity is part of the unique peer-to-peer activities being delivered by the Global Facility to partners worldwide on the topic of Beneficial Ownership transparency.
This activity is also part of the ongoing review of the Regulatory framework being developed by Jamaica and the broader technical assistance provided by the EU Global Facility to the authorities and relevant entities in the field of AML/CFT in Jamaica.
Learn more here

BO discussions series 1: Disclosure frameworks and the NPO sector
2022-06-28
Joint activity launched by our Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership Alexandre Taymans and Key Expert on Justice/CSOs Mamuka Jgenti.
On 28 June 2022, they opened the first in a series of two online workshops titled “Beneficial Ownership disclosure frameworks and the NPO sector: implementation challenges and opportunities”.
This first workshop, which focuses on the regulatory context and the efficiency/effectiveness gaps in the sector, is gathering subject matter experts representing the various sectors and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) beneficial ownership multi-pronged approach (e.g. NPOs, beneficial ownership registers, banking sector, RegTech, research).
The second workshop, scheduled for 5 July 2022, will focus on identifying concerns and discussing if and how BO Registers can address (some of) the concerns raised.
For each session, specific experts have been identified and will be invited to present and participate to the discussion on the topic at hand based on their background and area of expertise.
The objectives of these two workshops are to:

identify the impact observed of BO disclosure frameworks on the NPO sector,
discuss the possible ways in which to embed the risk based approach in the design of these framework,
how BO registers could serve as a tool to provide remedies to the unintended consequences on the NPO sector that have been observed over the years.

Further to these workshops, a joint report will be drafted by the Global NPO Coalition and the Global Facility that will detail the findings and possible ways in which this discussion could be brought forth.

Workshop on BO registers as Competent Authorities in Brussels
2022-06-23 - 2022-06-24 | Brussels, Belgium
The EU AML/CFT Global Facility is in the process of exploring the current approach to Beneficial Ownership Registers and exploring solutions and potential ways forward that can also be shared in the context of our technical assistance activities to partners jurisdictions. In particular, we are exploring the possibility of Beneficial Ownership Registers evolving into Competent Authorities.
In this context, the Global Facility organised a working group of experts who deal with these issues first-hand. The purpose of the event was to delve deeper into the topic, discuss challenges and lessons learnt and put forward an approach for more effective national and cross border beneficial ownership disclosure frameworks.
The session involved only a small number of participants from Beneficial Ownership Registers and FIUs, creating an opportunity to meet, network and exchange ideas with colleagues on a very topical matter.

In their words:
Alfred Zammit, Deputy Director at the Financial Intelligence Unit of Malta, reflects on the activity:
“It was a pleasure for me to be able to contribute to the interesting discussions that we had in Brussels, and to share Malta’s experiences and best practices on the topic of beneficial ownership,” he stated after the workshop.
“It was also interesting and useful to hear about the experiences, practices and challenges faced by our international colleagues from FIUs and BO registries, possible solutions, and above all, the different approaches implemented on the ground. There’s always so much to learn from each other. Bringing together several representatives from EU member states to have thought-provoking discussions on this topic in a frank and informal setting was a commendable initiative, and a great way to launch this project.”
“I hope we can continue to assist you with this project, and we look forward to its outcome. I have no doubt that the international AML/CFT community will find the guidance and assistance that will come out of this project incredibly useful to strengthen their framework when it comes to BO.”

E-training for Jamaican prosecutors on confiscation
2022-06-20 - 2022-06-24 | Jamaica, Jamaica
The e-training of Jamaican prosecutors on confiscation is the second e-training activity conducted with Jamaica under the Justice component.
Participants shall be from prosecutions service and the event is a part of the technical assistance under the justice component recently launched with the Jamaican authorities.
This e-training shall focus on the following topics: International standards on ML and confiscation, introduction to ML; Continuation of introduction to money laundering, elements of crime, types of ML, standard of proof, use of typologies, etc.

Regional conference on use of AML/CFT in Investigation of Art & Antiquities Criminality
2022-06-14 - 2022-06-16 | Cairo, Egypt
Regional conference on illicit art trafficking launched in Cairo
Cairo, 14 June 2022 – Participants from 14 countries of the MENA region on Tuesday convened in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilizations of Cairo, Egypt, to partake in the “Regional Conference on the use of AML/CFT in the investigation of Art and Antiquities Criminality” organised by the EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (EU GF-AML/CFT).
Held under the patronage of the Egyptian Anti-Money Laundering Unit (AMLU), the three-day event is witnessing the participation of some 90 high-level participants from MENA, the EU and international institutions such as UNODC and Interpol.
In his opening remarks, Dr Khaled El-Anany, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, stressed the importance that the Egyptian state attaches to raising the value of its cultural property and increasing awareness of the value of its cultural heritage, citing the unprecedented budget dedicated to the field of antiquities and museums in recent years, which allowed for the opening of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization among others.
“Illegal trade in cultural property is one of the most important challenges facing Egypt, like many countries of ancient civilizations in the world, and it is no secret that the market for art and antiquities, besides being an arena for the illicit circulation of cultural property, it is also an ideal arena for money laundering,” he stressed, highlighting the “State’s obligation to protect, preserve, and maintain antiquities, and recover what was seized from them, as well as the prohibition of gifting or exchanging any of them, and considering the attack and trafficking in them a crime that does not fall under the statute of limitations.”
“There is a high correlation between the increase in art trafficking and organised crime. In the past years, Egypt has taken numerous measures to identify, investigate and tackle this type of trafficking,” said Judge Ahmed Said Khalil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees – AML/CFT Unit of Egypt.
He added: “Over the past 7 years, 29,000 antiquities have been recovered by the Arab Republic of Egypt, in collaboration with relevant entities and institutions in partner countries including France, Germany, Jordan, the US, Mexico (among many others).”
The first in a series of four regional conferences to be organised through 2024, the event will consist of a series of presentations by international experts on money laundering, terrorist financing and illicit art trafficking, as well as a hands-on case study examining the routes and and methodologies used by criminal networks involved in the looting or theft of antiquities and art.
“Today’s conference is an important building block in fighting criminality in art and antiquities. The EU Global Facility is a crucial project in the fight against ML/TF in all its forms, including the trafficking of art and antiquities. With the presence of delegates from 14 countries, the EU and the UN will certainly bring a wealth of experience in art and antiquities investigations. More importantly it will allow identifying potential solutions and recommendations to be brought to the next conference,” said Christian Berger, EU Ambassador to Egypt.
Ultimately, the conference will aim to build the capability of both public and private sectors to share information, identify problems and solutions to this type of crime. It also seeks to raise awareness of the issues, and increase the capability of all actors involved to reduce and counter the ML/FT penetration of these lucrative markets and protect a country’s heritage.

E-training on Recommendation 8 Turkey
2022-06-14 - 2022-06-15
This e-training is part of a series of online capacity building e-training delivered by the EU Global Facility to the regulators from Turkey on the FATF Rec 8 requirements.

Regional conference on consequences of financial sanctions on NPOs with regards to FATF Rec 8
2022-06-07 - 2022-06-09 | Tsibili, Georgia
This regional workshop is held in Tbilisi, Georgia and is organised by the EU Global Facility in partnership with the Global NPO Coalition on FATF, the European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law, CSO Meter as well as the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information.
It will witness the participation of representatives from the European Commission, NPOs and law enforcement agencies’ representatives, among others.

BO Guidance and Trainig Programme workshop in Jordan
2022-06-06 - 2022-06-09 | Jordan
AMMAN, 5 June 2022– The EU Global Facility on Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism in cooperation with the Anti-Money Laundering & Counter Terrorist Financing Unit and the Central Bank of Jordan organised a series of multi-stakeholders trainings to present the upcoming Beneficial Ownership Guidance and discuss the effective implementation of international standards related to the transparency of beneficial ownership.
These training sessions are conducted in the framework of the implementation of the technical assistance programme funded by the European Union to support Jordan in enhancing beneficial ownership transparency in the country, which resulted in the preparation by the CBJ of a new guidance on BO transparency for reporting entities subject to the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Law. This new guidance will assist these reporting entities to identify the beneficial owners of legal persons and legal arrangements in compliance with the requirements of the customer due diligence measures they are required to conduct.
These sessions, held in Amman, were delivered by international experts from the EU Global Facility and covered topics such as how criminals misuse corporate entities to commit financial crime, the FATF and EU beneficial ownership disclosure standards, and approaches and operational considerations relating to identifying of red flags of corporate entities misuse as part of regulatory authorisations and ongoing supervision. Practical case studies were also discussed with the participants.
The Central Bank of Jordan team also presented the new guidance on BO transparency and encouraged the audience to provide feedback on the content so has to complement it prior to its publication.
Deputy Chief of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Unit of Jordan, Ala’ Bani Fawaz, stressed the importance of identifying the BO from corporate entities in order to prevent their misuse in committing financial crimes, money laundering and terrorist financing.
He also presented key points of the guidance that will be officially issued soon, which contains useful practical examples and guidance for the entities on how to identify the ultimate beneficial ownership within legal structures.
M. Alexandre Taymans, Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership for the Global Facility praised the dedication of the Jordanian authorities and the efforts made since the start of the joint work with the Global Facility in January 2021 in implementing measures to enhance the transparency of legal persons within the jurisdiction, pointing to the need to focus as from now on their effective implementation.

E-training Ministry of Justice of Turkiye on confiscation
2022-06-06 - 2022-06-08 | Turkey, Turkey
This is the first technical assistance activity delivered by the EU GF to Turkiye under the justice component for Turkiye.
Representatives of the Ministry of Justice shall be trained on best practices of confiscation.

Joint session with ESAAMLG on “Transparency and BO of LP/LA: from risk understanding to risk mitigating”
2022-05-27
Today the EU Global Facility, under the supervision of Alexandre Taymans, opened the first working session on “Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements: from risk understanding to risk mitigating”.
Organised jointly with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (“ESAAMLG”) Secretariat and their BO Project Team composed of representatives from Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the session focused on Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Rec24, Rec25 and Immediate Outcome 5.
The joint session aimed at promoting effective implementation of national beneficial ownership frameworks. It forms part of wider joint work currently conducted by the ESAAMLG to develop a toolkit aimed at assisting their members in assessing the risk related to the misuse of legal persons and arrangements for money laundering and terrorism financing purposes.
“This session has been designed to build the foundation of the future activities that will be conduct in the coming weeks and that will more specifically focus on the ways in which jurisdictions can conduct their risk assessment of LP/LA,” said Alexandre Taymans, EU GF Key Expert on #BO.
This activity will also feed in other activities to increase awareness and understanding of how beneficial ownership opacity contributes to the facilitation of financial crime and other illicit activities.
This first session explored the nuances of the concepts of legal ownership, beneficial ownership and control and unravelled key concepts in FATF’s Recommendations 24 (and its Interpretative Note) and 25.
The group explored the ways in which criminals misuse corporate entities, looking at real-life examples of how shell companies and opaque and complex ownership chains are abused to, amongst others, commit fraud, be involved in corruption, hide wealth and launder proceeds of crime.
Also discussed were the typical weaknesses in current national BO frameworks, such as limited powers of BO registers, striking the balance between the need for privacy and that for transparency, failures on the part of sectoral supervisors to identify red flags and lack of international cooperation.
The topic of implementation in practice wrapped up the session with a debate around what FATF standards mean in practice and how countries can translate them into effective national framework to prevent and detect the misuse of corporate entities.
In the coming weeks, another session will explore approaches to the assessment of BO-related risks at the national level, translating into practice lessons learnt from this initial session and looking at how to map key issues surrounding the topic in a way that allows jurisdictions to address them.
???????????????????????? Thank you to all participants for their enthusiastic engagement and the interest expressed by the audience!

E-training - Judiciary on Asset recovery for Jamaica
2022-05-17 - 2022-05-20 | Jamaica, Jamaica
This e-training will constitute the first technical assistance event of the EU Global Facility for Jamaica under the justice component.
As agreed during the recent scoping mission to Kingston, representatives of the judiciary shall benefit from the capacity building activities delivered by the EU GF. The e-training in question will focus on asset recovery standards and mechanisms.

Regional Conference on Forensic Audit Analysis
2022-05-17 - 2022-05-19 | Jordan
Press Release (coming soon)

The Regional Conference on Forensic Audit Analysis is organised by the EU Global Facility and the French Embassy to Jordan. in collaboration with the Anti-Money Laundering Unit of Jordan (AMLU)
The workshop, which is supported by the EU in Jordan, will bring together, during three days, on the one hand, representatives of these oversight bodies (court of auditors, inspection services, anticorruption authorities) and, on the other hand, representatives of the justice sector (prosecutions, criminal courts) as well as a representative of the Financial Intelligence Unit.
The countries invited to this regional seminar are Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine.
The workshop will aim at:
1) Bringing together players who are often isolated or without much ressources in the face of the complexity of financial crime, who have not yet acquired this culture of forensic audit and who do not have the necessary inter-institutional synergy.
2) Strengthening and optimising the means and strategies for combating financial crime and corruption in all its forms affecting public funds and management.
3) Identifying, at the end of the exchanges and discussions held in the workshop, a set of recommendations to strengthen the cooperation both at the inter-institutional level and at the regional level and thus to optimise the practices and strategies implemented by the forensic audit.
The logic underlying this workshop is the following:
1) Analysis of the current situation, actions and challenges (general and regional of the different actors)
2) A first solution: forensic audit as an investigation technique for the benefit of the control bodies and authorities
3) A second solution: forensic audit as a cooperation strategy for the benefit of criminal courts
4) Regarding the challenges and future threats: recommendations resulting from the discussions of the workshop with an inter-institutional and regional dimension

Follow up to South Africa Regional Rec 8 training co-organised with the UNOCT
2022-05-16 - 2022-05-17 | Zambia, Zambia
This is a follow up event to South Africa Regional Rec 8 workshop co-organised with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the ESAAMLG Secretariat.
This event specifically builds on the foundation of the March regional event in South Africa, follows up actions agreed to maintain momentum and using UNOCT and EUGF experts also expands on the cooperative nature of effective risk based NPO regulation.
The two-day joint regional workshop hosted by the FIC of Zambia on “protecting the NP sector in the ESAAMLG member jurisdictions from terrorism financing abuse” will be held on a hybrid onsite/virtual model.
It will gather representatives from authorities/NPO regulators from ESAAMLG member countries, as well as EU GF partner states from such as Bangladesh and Georgia. This seeks to ensure a wider distribution of the important principles of good NPO regulation in the context of minimising the risk of terrorist financing abuse of the sector.

Regional Conference on Correspondent Banking
2022-05-09 - 2022-05-13 | Mauritius, Mauritius
Regional conference on correspondent banking inaugurated by EU Global Facility, Bank of Mauritius
Port Louis, 11 May 2022 – A regional conference on correspondent banking and de-risking in Eastern and Southern Africa was opened today by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT and the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) in collaboration with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).
Held under the title “From de-risking to best practices in correspondent banking relationships in Eastern and Southern Africa”, the two-day event aims to assess the causes and existence of de-risking in ESAAMLG countries, as well as measures to tackle financial inclusion through the sharing of best practices in correspondent banking.
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr. Renganaden Padayachy, opened the conference, stating: “Our objective is for Mauritius to continue to strengthen its role as an international financial centre for the region while promoting financial stability and inclusion in the country. I am confident that the discussions at this conference will provide guidance in this direction.”
The high level conference will witness the participation of representatives from some of the most important actors in the banking field, including the International Monetary Fund, the Wolfsberg Group, SWIFT, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Egmont Group, Facebook Payments, as well as Mauritian financial institutions.
“The BoM works very closely with all its regulatees to ensure a continuous monitoring of developments on the front of correspondent banking and cross border payments. This workshop is therefore of paramount importance to come out better equipped in view of fostering stronger correspondent banking relationships,” said Harvesh Seegoolam, Governor of the BoM.
For his part, David Hotte, Team Leader of the EU Global Facility, explained: “The economic impact of de-risking can be devastating for countries around the world. They include difficulties in accessing international payment systems and foreign markets for trade, closure of operations by institutions, reduced scale of operations, and diminished financial performance and job losses.”
Noting that the number of correspondent banking terminations and restrictions had increased in the ESAAMLG region in recent years, he added: “with this unique and very high level conference, we intend to provide answers and solutions to the conclusions of the ESAAMLG survey on correspondent banking relationships.”
Last year, Mauritius was removed from both the FATF List of Countries subject to Increased Monitoring ahead of the FATF set timelines and the European Commission List of High-Risk Third Countries. This followed continuous efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the country’s AML/CFT regime.
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The event took place in a hybrid format (onsite and online) in Mauritius, from 11th to 12th, May 2022.
The objectives of this conference are to assist participants on:
(a) The de-risking phenomenon in ESAAMLG region, causes, consequences, and main drivers of correspondent banking relationships (CBRs) termination
(b) The measurement of de-risking impact and of listing
(c) Describe the FATF (Recommendation 13) and EU best practices, cross-border correspondent relationships, as opposed to domestic relationships, that should prompt additional customer due diligence measures
(d) Clarify the role of SWIFT as global provider of secure financial messaging services, and give an overview of the correspondent banking system, SWIFT’s role and initiatives in financial crime compliance, and particularly in the ESAAMLG region
(e) The challenges faced by correspondent banks
(f) The practical roles, tools and solutions, available for supervisors to design and implement risk-based supervision strategies
(g) The practical expectations, from the Financial Intelligence Units in receiving, analysing, and disseminating suspicious transaction reports on correspondent banking, and from Law Enforcement agencies in conducting investigations on financial crime abusing correspondent banking relationships (typologies) and the relevant consequences
(h) Facilitating the exchange of experiences between similar competent authorities

2nd Meeting of the High Level Experts Working Group
2022-05-02 - 2022-05-04 | Bucarest, Romania
Experts convene to develop innovative legal tools to combat money laundering, terrorist financing
Bucarest, 2 May 2022 – High level experts from the judiciary and financial intelligence fields on Wednesday concluded a three-day meeting organised by the EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (EU GF-AML/CFT) in cooperation with the Siracusa International Institute on criminal justice and human rights.
Held at the National Institute of Magistracy of Romania, this constituted the second in a series of collaborative meetings held under the title “Assessing the scope and effectiveness of innovative legal approaches to money laundering (ML) investigations and asset recovery”. These activities seek to lead to the production of a far-reaching study on existing good practice that alleviate the burden of proof in ML investigations and asset recovery procedures. The results of the study shall provide a valuable resource for the work of relevant global and regional institutions (e.g. FATF, FSRBs, EU and UN relevant structures etc.), as well as national authorities and justice sectors.
General Prosecutor of Romania Gabriela Scutea opened the session on Monday, stating “We need to help develop new innovative instruments to combat ML and terrorist financing (TF) worldwide. I am trusting that the result of this collaborative work will be helpful and inspire legal practitioners not only here in Romania but also in many countries of the world.”
For his part, EU Global Facility Team Leader David Hotte noted in his opening remarks: “Today, we need to find a solution to combat ML/TF in an ever more efficient way that is useful for all but also constitutional and in respect of human rights.”
During this specific session, experts worked to identify, in their domestic law, one or several legal mechanisms (legislative provision, rule established by consolidated case law, administrative mechanism, etc.) which facilitate satisfying the reversed burden of proof in ML and cases of illicit enrichment offence.
President of the Siracusa Institute, Jean-François Thony, stressed the importance of the matter, saying “the experts meeting today have one question to answer: how can we improve the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and how can we ensure that criminals engaging in that kind of activities can be sentenced and deprived of their ill-gotten assets, within the respect of constitutional rights?”
“All practitioners know that the difficulty of providing evidence of the offence of money laundering is more acute than for any other crime, because the essence of this offence is precisely to hide evidence, to make the trail of illicit profits untraceable, and to protect criminal assets from confiscation,” he added.
The Experts Working Group is part of a series of activities organised by the EU GF-AML/CFT and the Siracusa Institute aimed at strengthening international judicial co-operation and the efficient application of existing MLA standards and international instruments by judges and prosecutors.

Working visit IO5/IO7 to Panama
2022-04-18 - 2022-04-23 | Panama, Panama
From April 18th to 23rd, 2022 a Global Facility delegation will be in Panama to conduct different activities covering FATF Immediate Outcome 5 and 7. The activities will be implemented in cooperation with experts from the World Bank.
The working programme included a conference on “Transparency and Beneficial Ownership – Highlighting the launching of the Private and Unique System for the Registry of Beneficial Ownership of Legal Entities”
Gathering speakers from the Panamanian authorities, the World Bank and the EU Global Facility, the conference was attended by more than 300 people, on a hybrid format (onsite/online).
During their opening speeches, Minister of Economy and Finances, H.E Hector E. Alexander H., and Superintendent of Non-Financial Subjects (SSNF) Dayra Carrizo Castillero, welcomed the support provided to Panama by GAFILAT , the EU GF, the IMF and the WB.
For his part, GAFILAT Deputy Executive Secretary Gustavo Vega commended the close work that started between the EU GF and GAFILAT on the topic of beneficial ownership

The next day, a workshop on national risk assessment for Designated Non Financial Businessess and Professions (DNFBPs) was held.

Workshop on AML CFT typologies on real estate for the FIU of the UAE
2022-04-18 - 2022-04-22 | The UAE, United Arab Emirates
The EU GFT will implement a virtual workshop with representatives of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the United Arab Emirates.
The overall purpose of this event will be to increase the knowledge and understanding of the analysts of the FIU regarding the suspicious transaction reports (STR) received from the real estate sector.

Scoping mission to DRC
2022-04-11 - 2022-04-14 | DRC, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT kicked off a scoping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday.
From 11 to 14 April 2022, the delegation -led by our Key Expert on Judiciary/CSOs Mamuka Jgenti – will be in Kinshasa for a series of meetings with Congolese stakeholders.
Among others, they will meet with representatives from different ministries (finance, justice, interior), the CENAREF (financial intelligence unit, focal point for the EU GFT), the Central Bank of Congo, the Public prosecutor office and the anti-#corruption agency, among others.
This scoping mission to the DRC aims to evaluate the current state of play and the potential technical assistance that could be delivered by the EU Global Facility to Congolese counterparts. The Global Facility will complete this scoping mission together with the AML-THB Project in the Greater Horn of #Africa, in order to join forces and offer the most comprehensive technical assistance possible.

Training of Turkish regulators on FATF REC 8 requirements
2022-04-04 - 2022-04-06 | Turkey, Turkey
This is the first complete e-training module launched with the Turkish authorities on the implementation and compliance with FATF REC 8.
The sessions are expected to be attended by representatives of Turkish authorities and regulators as well as law enforcement authorities. This e=training will be followed by online and onsite capacity building events organised by the EU GF.

ESAAMLG Plenary
2022-04-03 - 2022-04-08 | Arusha, Tanzania, United Republic of
The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT is invited to attend the ESAAMLG’s 43rd Task Force of Senior Officials’ Meeting from 3 to 8 April 2022 at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania.

Scoping mission to Morocco
2022-03-29 - 2022-03-30 | Morocco, Morocco
On 29 and 30 March 2022, a delegation from the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT will be in Rabat for a series of meetings with Moroccan counterparts.
Among others, they will meet with the Ministry of Finance (focal point for AML/CFT activities and the establishment of a beneficial owner register), the ANRF (financial intelligence unit), financial and non-financial supervisory authorities, the Ministry of Justice, and various liaison magistrates.
These meetings aim to be a platform for discussion of technical assistance and refine Morocco’s request for AML/CFT strengthening support.

Regional Conference on Strengthening Judicial Cooperation in the MENA Region
2022-03-22 - 2022-03-24 | Bahrain, Bahrain
Press Release
Regional conference on judicial cooperation in the MENA region launched in Bahrain

Manama, 22 March 2022 – The EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (EU GF-AML/CFT) on Tuesday kicked off a regional conference on judicial cooperation in the MENA region, in collaboration with the Siracusa International Institute for criminal justice and human rights organised with the support of the Public Prosecution of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Held under the title ‘Strengthening Judicial Cooperation in the MENA Region: Judges and Prosecutors at the Forefront of the Fight against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing’, the three-day event is witnessing the participation of 70 participants from 18 countries of the MENA region.
“We are delighted to be here today with such great attendance. It is with pleasure that we see the level of dedication to judicial cooperation, a topic at the heart of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing,” said EU Global Facility Team Leader David Hotte in his welcoming remarks.
“It is particularly impressive to witness participants from so many countries committed to the deepening of collaborative measures to ensure the due recovery of proceeds from organised crime and terrorist activities,” he added, thanking the Kingdom of Bahrain and all representatives for their attendance.
For his part, Jean-François Thony, President of the Siracusa Institute, highlighted the importance of the event, stating: ‘‘this conference is one-of its kind. Indeed, seeing judges and prosecutors from so many countries gathered in one room to cooperate on AML/CFT is unique, especially in this region. Too often we forget the importance of judges and prosecutors in the AML/CFT process but not today.”
“International collaboration of this level is of particular importance for the Siracusa Institute, which is at the forefront of the fight against organised crime in the Mediterranean and has made of the improvement of criminal justice systems one of its core missions.”
The conference is part of a series of activities organised by the EU GF-AML/CFT and the Siracusa Institute aimed at strengthening international judicial co-operation and the efficient application of existing MLA standards and international instruments by judges and prosecutors.
In a video message, Regional Counsellor on counterterrorism and security at the EU Delegation to Bahrain, Philippe Cormier, stated “this conference is an illustration of the fast and strong development of our common ambition to develop and deepen judicial cooperation in the MENA region and work to facilitate judicial cooperation with the EU, in a result oriented way.”
“Today, with this EU-MENA conference on judicial cooperation, our common interest is to extend the level of trust developed between EU Member States to the judicial relation we have between EU and MENA Member States,” he added.

Topics tackled during the conference included:

What works and does not work for judicial cooperation on AML/CFT matters: A high-level situation analysis for the MENA region
Countering the financing of terrorism: a specific challenge for the MENA region
National strategies to ensure effective investigations and prosecutions relating to anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and counter-proliferation
Best practices for money laundering and financial investigations and prosecutions, and criminal asset recovery
Constitutional arguments as obstacles to judicial cooperation: Contrasting myth and reality
Improving the capacity of investigators and judicial systems to turn intelligence into evidence
International experiences and best practices with governmental and social reuse of confiscated criminal assets
Improving judicial cooperation in the MENA region: listing effective tools

Scoping mission to Jamaica
2022-03-14 - 2022-03-18 | Jamaica, Jamaica
This scoping mission to Jamaica aims to evaluate the current state of play and the activities delivered so far by the EU Global Facility to Jamaican counterparts.
During a variety of meetings, participants from both sides will discuss the action plan for the future of the technical assistance, which will include a specific focus on Recommendation 8 and beneficial ownership.
Alongside the scoping mission, a workshop will also be organised for regulatory authorities and Not-for-Profit Organisations. It will cover the strategy and steps needed for compliance with the recommendations’ requirements.
Press Release
Wrap up Jamaica ????????
The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT’s Team Leader David Hotte and Key Expert on Justice/CSOs Mamuka Jgenti conclude their Technical Assistance (TA) scoping and assessment visit to Kinston, Jamaica.
During the visit, they held a number of outreach meetings with the representatives of the Bank of Jamaica, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FID) and the agencies regulating the Not for Profit Organisations in the country.
A few outcomes:
→ The progress achieved Jamaica to date in the implementation of ICRJ AP was reviewed
→ The added value of the TA provided by the GFT was assessed.
→ The EU GF support was commended by the local authorities, who highlighted the “tangible results achieved”, in particular regarding the FATF Rec 8 and BO related matters.
→A concrete follow up interaction work plan was agreed to extend the coverage of TA provided by the EU GF, to encompass activities under the Justice and Law Enforcement components of the AML/CFT system.
In parallel, the EU GF organised its 1st onsite workshop in Jamaica for the authorities/NPO regulators and civil society representatives. The workshop aimed at supporting Jamaica’s efforts in ensuring compliance with the FATF Rec 8 in line with the ICRG AP.
The workshop was conducted by the expert Phil Cooper from the Greenacre Group Ltd and witnessed the attendance of Minister Aubyn Hill of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Sancia Templar, Permanent Secretary and Maurene Simms, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Jamaica.

ESAAMLG/EU GF Regional Workshop on Implementation of Requirements of FATF Rec 8
2022-03-07 - 2022-03-09 | Johannesburg, South Africa
The EU-funded AML/CFT Global Facility, in collaboration with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), the Global NPO Coalition on FATF and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), South Africa will jointly organise a three-day regional workshop on “Implementation of Requirements of FATF Recommendation 8” for ESAAMLG member countries.
Scheduled on 7 to 9 March 2022 in in Johannesburg, South Africa, the regional workshop will seek to assist participants to:

– Understand the requirements of FATF Recommendation 8 and what they need to do to strengthen their legislations, institutional and operational frameworks such as policies and other terrorist financing mitigating measures.
– Acquire knowledge and expertise so that they are able to identify those NPOs that fall within the FATF definition and those which are likely to be at the risk of TF abuse, and to better understand how the NPOs can be abused for terrorist financing purposes;
– Acquire knowledge and expertise which will enable them to apply targeted risk-based supervision or monitoring of those NPOs that are at risk of being abused; and
– Understand how they can establish effective mechanisms to facilitate cooperation and coordination and information sharing amongst relevant competent authorities in order to take preventive or investigative action in a timely manner.

This Workshop will be organised and held in the spirit of enhancing member countries’ compliance with relevant FATF Standards. It will provide regulators of NPOs, FIUs and NPO Associations with a platform to discuss and share insights on best practices and challenges which they face and methodologies that can be used to ensure compliance with the FATF requirements on NPOs. Such exchanges will contribute towards prioritisising the improvement of national legislation and policies that will promote accountability, integrity and public confidence in the administration and management of NPOs. The Workshop will also assist member countries to implement respective FATF ICRG Action Plans or any other follow-up processes in relation to Recommendation 8.

Scoping mission to Zambia
2022-03-01 - 2022-03-04 | Zambia, Zambia

EU delisting of Mauritius, Botswana - Official Journal
2022-02-21
Mauritius is officially out of the EU high risk countries on AML/CFT !
As per Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, the Official Journal of the European Union announced the ‘delisting’ of Mauritius, alongside that of the Bahamas, Botswana, Ghana and Iraq.
The EU recognised the “written high-level political commitment to address the identified deficiencies of these high-risk third countries which have developed an action plan with Financial Action Task Force (FATF)”.
The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT is particularly enthusiastic about this achievement, having been a long standing partner of Mauritius in its delisting efforts since June 2019.
Over the course of 18 months, the EU GF-AML/CFT provided technical support to the country as part of the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee (TACC) composed of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the International Monetary Fund, UNODC, The World Bank, in addition to the support of the French and British embassies, as well as the AML-THB Project, among others.
Among other announcements:
????“The FATF welcomed significant progress made by Botswana, Ghana and Mauritius in improving their AML/CFT regime and noted that Botswana, Ghana and Mauritius have established the legal and regulatory framework to meet the commitments in their action plans regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF had identified. Botswana, Ghana and Mauritius are therefore no longer subject to the FATF’s monitoring process under its on-going global AML/CFT compliance process. Botswana, Ghana and Mauritius will continue to work with the FATF Style Regional Bodies to improve further their AML/CFT regime.”
????“The Commission’s analysis concluded that the Bahamas, Botswana, Ghana, Iraq and Mauritius do not have strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regime anymore considering the available information. The Bahamas, Botswana, Ghana, Iraq and Mauritius have strengthened the effectiveness of their AML/CFT regime and addressed related technical deficiencies to meet the commitments in their action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified and the additional benchmarks or preliminary concerns set by the Commission.”
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Outreach visit to Europol
2022-02-17 | Europol, Netherlands
Yesterday, our team leader David Hotte, Key Expert on Regulation Arnaud Stien and Coordinator Benjamin Bricheux conducted an outreach visit to Europol in The Hague, to discuss common areas of interest and potential synergies with a number of colleagues from the EFECC, the TFTP (ECTC), the Governance Department and the Spanish liaison office at Europol.
Following presentations of Europol and the EU GF project, discussions revolved around potential cooperation in the future and common interest in the field of AML/CFT. Sharing of expertise and the participation of Europol in some of the EU Global Facility’s activities were also evoked.
Indeed, the Global Facility mentioned its keenness on inviting Europol experts in a targeted way, depending on the topics and the countries.
The exchanges contributed to positioning the Global Facility as a potential technical assistance solution in countries with which Europol cooperates, and where a need for training on AML/CFT related matters is emerging (ex: Colombia was mentioned).
The Global Facility also expressed its interest in joining the Europol Platform for Experts (EPE), which could serve as a forum for exchange between police officers trained in the partner countries.
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Strategic Approach for the ICRG Process - Jordan
2022-02-08 - 2022-02-10 | Jordan
Over the past three days, the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT was in Jordan to support the delivery of a strategic approach for the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) Process focused activity.
Jordanian partners were introduced to the successful experience of Mauritius by Yonesha Sahyem head of AML/CFT at the Ministry of Good Governance and Dr Navin Beekarry, Co-Chair of the Core Group for AML/CFT in Mauritius.
This activity aimed to enhance Jordan’s capacity to respond to ICRG requirements through the exchange of best practices on strategic capacity building.
Following a high-level briefing on the strategic approach and the coordination mechanism that can be in put place, sessions focused on actions to be taken at each stage of the ICRG monitoring cycle and on the conditions to be met for removal from the ICRG process. This includes an ICRG on-site visit and the coordination mechanism to prepare for the face-to-face meeting with the Joint Group.
Discussions were also held with senior officials on the operation of the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee (TACC) and the technical assistance matrix and the future course of action between the EU GF and Jordan.

Scoping mission to Turkey
2022-02-02 - 2022-02-04 | Turkey, Turkey
The Global Facility will conduct a scoping mission in Turkey with the objective of meeting stakeholders and agreeing on a technical cooperation programme.
