EU AML/CFT Global Facility

First Meeting of the Senior Advisory Group in Brussels
2023-05-15 - 2023-05-16 | Brussels, Belgium
The EU Global Facility project is pleased to welcome the very first meeting of its Senior Advisory Group on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 May 2023 in its headquarters of Brussels.
Established to provide the project’s team with advice and insights on strategic AML/CFT orientations and to foster forward-looking discussions on potential new areas of high-level technical assistance, the Group is composed of 11 members, allowing for a diverse representation of EU Member States and partner countries, namely Belgium 🇧🇪, Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Denmark 🇩🇰, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, India 🇮🇳 , Italy 🇮🇹, Lithuania 🇱🇹, Poland 🇵🇱 and Spain 🇪🇸.
High-level representatives of these countries with backgrounds relevant to the AML/CFT sphere such as financial intelligence, law enforcement, justice, EU public administration, the private sector and the academia, spent these two days discussing the work conducted by the EU Global Facility since its creation back in 2017.
They also exchanged on the relevance of the topics foreseen for future activities. Ultimately, the Senior Advisory Group shall provide substantive inputs on how to increase the efficiency of the EU Global Facility in assisting states (i) to comply with the international standards on AML/CFT and; (ii) to support the national Financial Intelligence Units, judiciary and law enforcement agencies to implement the international instruments’ provisions as well as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations.
On the second day, participants discussed the EU response on AML/CFT, through a review of the European Commission’s Architecture on AML/CFT Technical Assistance and the perspectives ahead.
Moderated by de Kerchove Gilles , the discussions also covered the new EU AML Package (https://lnkd.in/eYZavjGZ), shedding a specific light on the creation of the AMLA and on the evolution of the listing process for high-risk third countries.
“The AMLA was thought through in very close collaboration with national Financial Intelligence Units, as it is not destined to replace these national layers. It will rather serve as the centre of an integrated system composed of the AMLA and the national authorities with an AML/CFT supervisory mandate,” said a representative of the European Commission, stressing that it would also help in bolstering cooperation among national FIUs.

Regional conference on use of AML/CFT in Investigation of Art & Antiquities Criminality in Mexico
2023-05-09 - 2023-05-11 | Mexico, Mexico
Mexico City, May 9, 2023.- Representatives from 18 Latin American countries are participating in the Regional Conference “The use of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) in the investigation of Art and Antiquities Criminality”, organised by the EU AML/CFT Global Facility in collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Mexico and the Financial Action Task Force for Latin America (GAFILAT).
The Conference aims to strengthen the capacity of the public and private sectors to share information, exchange best practices, identify problems and create solutions to this type of crime. It also aims to raise awareness of this phenomenon among all stakeholders in order to reduce and counter money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in these lucrative markets and protect a country’s heritage.
The three-day regional event opened at Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology with 120 high-level participants from Latin America and the Caribbean, the European Union and international organisations such as UNESCO, Interpol and the World Customs Organization, among others.
During her participation, the Minister of Culture, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, stressed the importance of inter-institutional collaboration to stop the trafficking of heritage assets, and offered her support to advance this objective. “We are talking not only about a legal issue, but also about a human rights issue. Culture is based on cultural rights, on the rights to identity, on the rights of those peoples and communities that have historically been plundered by decades of plundering, of marginalisation, and are those places where the greatest cultural wealth is preserved”.
The head of the country’s cultural policy commented on the actions that have been put in place, for example, the Inter-institutional Commission of the Mexican Government to work on the issue and seek the repatriation of pieces that are outside the country, as well as the campaign #MiPatrimonioNoSeVende, to stop auctions that occur outside the national territory, which has allowed the return to Mexico of more than 11,500 pieces.
The Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Pablo Gómez Álvarez, referred to the strategic role of the Financial Intelligence Unit in the identification and tracking of illicit trafficking of cultural property in Mexico related to money laundering. He also pointed out the importance of strengthening inter-institutional coordination and international cooperation in order to prevent and combat this phenomenon more effectively.
Gómez Álvarez highlighted the efforts made by the FIU and the Mexican authorities that make up the national AML/CFT system to identify, prevent and mitigate those emerging risks identified in the commission of these crimes, and emphasised the relevance and usefulness of efficient and timely information exchange channels.
This event, the second in a series of four regional conferences to be organised in 2024, will consist of a series of presentations by international experts on AML/CFT and illicit art trafficking, as well as case studies examining the routes and methods used by criminal networks involved in the looting or theft of antiquities and works of art.
GAFILAT Executive Secretary Esteban Fullin highlighted the fact that “the market for art, antiquities and other cultural objects has attracted organised criminal groups and terrorists to launder the proceeds of their crime and finance their activities. There are risks associated with these markets and many countries do not have sufficient understanding of these risks.”
“Criminals seek to exploit the sector’s history of privacy, which, coupled with a lack of awareness, results in a lack of resources, expertise and experience to investigate and prosecute these crimes both domestically and internationally,” he pointed out. He acknowledged that the issue of art trafficking and money laundering has been little explored, when it is a threat, a precedent crime that generates illicit profits, hence the importance of the regional conference. “That’s also why I think we can learn a little bit from what the Mexican Ministry of Culture and the Mexican FIU can bring to us,” she said.

In his welcome address, David Hotte, Team Leader of the EU Global Facility, highlighted the innovative nature of the conference series, which “addresses the intrinsically complex issue of the looting and art trafficking conflict from a very comprehensive perspective”. “Managing to bring together investigators, prosecutors, Financial Intelligence Unit officials and members of the public and private sectors around the same table is a great success and the first step towards a stronger and more effective response to prevent the penetration of ML/TF in these lucrative markets, ultimately protecting countries’ assets”.

Regional Custodial Financial Investigations Webinar in Africa
2023-05-03
Yesterday, the EU Global Facility held a very successful webinar on Prisons, Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance: A missed opportunity?’ – An Introduction to Custodial Financial Investigations.
Targeted at representatives of the Middleeast and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) and esaamlg org regions, this marked the very first in a series of webinars to be organised throughout the year on the topic of illicit finance in the custodial environment.
Over 70 participants took part in the discussions, which followed presentations by various specialised experts on a number of the issues, problems and financial investigative opportunities on the subject.

🔎 An introduction to illicit finance in the custody and prisons arena
🔎 An identification of the issues
🔎 A suggested approach to Custodial Financial Investigations
🔎 An introduction to Illicit Business Model Analysis

This webinar comes following the publication of a paper on Custodial Financial Investigations available here

E-training on FATF Rec 8 for Trinidad and Tobago's authorities and regulators
2023-05-02 - 2023-05-05 | Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago
Today, the EU Global Facility launches a new e-training of authorities and regulators of Trinidad and Tobago. Focused on the topic of FATF Recommendation 8, the activity follows the initial e-training delivered to NPOs of the partner country on the same topic last month.
Starting today, the e-training will focus on the requirements and best practices to implement in order to best comply with FATF Rec 8 requirements. It is part of the workplan agreed upon with the Caribbean island during a scoping mission back in February 2023.
As of today, the EU Global Facility has already delivered technical assistance activities to the partner country on the topic of Sanctions (Immediate Outcome 3 and Recommendations 28 and 25), Gaming and FATF Recommendation 8 on the not-for-profit sector.

Support of finalisation of NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment in Jamaica
2023-04-25 - 2023-04-28 | Jamaica, Jamaica
The EU Global Facility is wrapping up the day with its onsite workshop in #Jamaica 🇯🇲.
This week, one of our experts worked with the government of Jamaica to consolidate the considerable success achieved so far in the review of the NPO sector exercise.
Over the last few days, they worked on identifying where potential risks lie in the non profit sector and ways to mitigate them, in order to make the Jamaican NPO sector stronger and better equipped to counter money laundering and terrorist financing threats.
Key Jamaican NPOs also took part in consultations held about these reforms to ensure a comprehensive analysis of the reality on the ground.
Meanwhile, internal reforms within the governmental entities are being analysed in order to best adjust to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other international standards.
In the near future, the EU Global Facility shall also organise one to one sessions with relevant Jamaican partners to address any concerns that may remain on this workstream.

Regional workshop on BO Registers in Tunisia
2023-04-25 - 2023-04-27 | Tunisie, Tunisia
Tunis, 26 April – The National Company Registry (RNE) of Tunisia and the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT on Thursday wrapped up a three-day regional training workshop on “Implementing a register of beneficial owners” in Tunis.
“It is part of the mission of RNE as an actor in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and guarantor of the transparency of economic transactions necessary for economic growth,” said the Director General of the register, Adel Chouari, at the opening of the training on Tuesday.
He stressed the importance of the implementation of a register of beneficial owners, which is the first guarantor of transparency and integrity of the financial sector, especially since Tunisia is preparing to come under the scrutiny of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2024, for a periodic evaluation.
For his part, the Head of Section and First Secretary of the Delegation of the European Union in Tunisia, Massimiliano Messi, noted that the EU will always support the NER and Tunisia so that investment remains viable and interesting and a source of job and wealth creation.
“It is very important for the EU to train in the field of Beneficial Ownership, noting that the recommendations of the intergovernmental body that oversees global trends in money laundering and terrorist financing “FATF” are very important but those on BO still remain the most complicated” he said.
Messi estimated that the presence of representatives of the commercial registers of Algeria and Libya will allow to create a dynamic to be able to detect the BO which are hidden in a register in one country or in another.
The training was led by international experts from the EU Global Facility coming from Belgium and Luxembourg.

AML/CFT Moot Court Concept - Working Meeting in Siracusa
2023-04-25 - 2023-04-27 | Siracusa, Italy, Siracusa, Italy
Today, we begin the work on the AML/CFT Moot Court with The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights.
A group of experts from Iceland, Italy, France, Georgia, Romania and the United States gathered to explore the potential of MOOT courts to develop in-depth knowledge and practical skills of prosecutors in relation to money laundering cases.
During this first meeting, the working group reviewed the workplan of activities proposed and the distribution of tasks, as well as analysed the information on good practices already gathered by the experts.
This pilot activity will then be tested for future implementation for the benefit of EU Global Facility partner countries.
💡 The collaboration between the EU Global Facility and the Siracusa International Institute began in September 2021 with the aim of reinforcing judges and prosecutors’ capacities and specialised knowledge on AML/CFT matters. A number of joint activities has already been held on various international judicial cooperation matters.

Working visit to the DRC
2023-04-24 - 2023-04-26 | DRC, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
The EU Global Facility is in Kinshasa , DRC 🇨🇩 this week as part of its technical assistance activities to the partner country.
The working visit headed by our Team Leader David Hotte kicked off this morning with a training on sanction screening (Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations 6 and 7) delivered by our Key Expert on Regulation/FIU Arnaud Stien and our expert on Targeted Financial sanctions Fadma Bouharchich.
This first training in a series will focus on the DRC’s obligations under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. They will enable the Congolese authorities to better understand the scope of CFS obligations and their place in the strategy to combat the financing of terrorism and the financing of nuclear proliferation. The analysis of the law and the training sessions will be used to fuel subsequent exchanges on the operationalisation of the adopted texts.
Three main areas of work are proposed:
1. Operationalisation of the institutional framework dedicated to the CFS: support for the definition of operational processes for the implementation of Recommendations 6 and 7 (identification of targets, communication of lists, withdrawal of lists, unfreezing of funds, etc.)
2. Establishment of processes for monitoring and inventorying frozen assets, to enable the DRC to respond to the FATF’s request for statistics on frozen assets (develop the process for communicating frozen assets to the competent authorities and their centralisation)
3. Ensure effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions by raising awareness of the scope of the obligations among the authorities responsible for monitoring the implementation of the CFS and the private sector”.
On Tuesday 25 April, the EU Global Facility team will provide a mentoring on national coordination, aimed at preparing the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee (TACC) meeting foreseen at the EU Delegation on Wednesday 26 April.
The TACC was launched last December in Kinshasa, in order to best coordinate the work of all technical assistance providers to the Congolese partners in their efforts to strengthen their AML/CFT frameworks.

E-training on FATF Recommendation 8 for Trinidad and Tobago NPOs
2023-04-17 - 2023-04-21 | Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago
Launch of the online training on FATF Recommendation 8 for our new partner state Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹 !
Over the next five days, some 40 representatives of NPOs from the Caribbean island will attend sessions to improve the country’s compliance with the requirements of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8, delivered by experts in the subject matter.
In his opening remarks, EU Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago His Excellency Peter Cavendish noted: “As it is recognised, money laundering and terrorist financing are significant threats to countries worldwide. The situation has been deteriorating and governments have to stop and coordinate to fight these phenomena’s global destructive reach.”
He stressed that the fight against ML/FT is “a global fight and it is essential to improve the well-being of citizens across the globe.
Training like that starting today allows to improve efficiency and effectiveness of capacities of all participants in AML/CFT.
I am very happy to welcome all participants and to announce that Trinidad and Tobago is now the 25th country where the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT is active.”
His remarks were followed by an introduction from Key Expert on Justice/CSO Mamuka Jgenti and the Head of Anti-Terrorism Unit at the Office of Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago Vyana Sharma.
In the coming weeks, another series of online training will be delivered to the representatives of authorities and regulators of the country, while other areas of technical assistance will be tackled by the rest of the EU Global Facility team.

E-training on FATF Recommendation 8 for Zambia
2023-04-12 - 2023-04-14 | Zambia, Zambia
With the support launched by the EU GF to the Zambian authorities in the preparation of their NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment, the EU GF experts shall train the authorities but also local experts to be engaged in the data gathering exercise, in the methodology and practical aspect on how to conduct the data collection process.

Completion of the NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment in the Seychelles
2023-04-12 | The Seychelles, Seychelles
Kick off of the NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment Validation Workshop in Victoria, Seychelles today.
The EU Global Facility, in co-operation with the FIU of the Seychelles, brought together some 100 participants from the authorities and regulators, the private sector and the NPO field to this important milestone.
The inherent risk report has been elaborated over the past months by the authorities of the Seychelles, with continuous support from the EU Global Facility experts.
It is expected to ensure better compliance of the partner country with the requirements of the FATF Recommendation 8 on NPOs.
During this event, participants will also discuss policy frameworks and guidelines to support improved compliance with the FATF Recommendation 8, as well as the forthcoming capacity building programme and outreach activities to be co-organised with the EU GF.
💡 The EU Global Facility’s technical assistance to the Seychelles began in the fall of 2022. It has covered topics related to NPOs, Beneficial Ownership, the Justice sector and the Regulation/FIU field.

Workshop on Regional Eastern Partnership and Europe AML/CFT Multi-stakeholder in Warsaw
2023-04-04 - 2023-04-05 | Poland, Poland
Today, we launch the 2nd in a series of Regional Consultations on the revisions of the Best Practices Paper on Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8 in Warsaw, #Poland 🇵🇱
Civil society representatives from 13 countries of the Regional Eastern Partnership and Europe will spend two days discussing the challenges and best practices in the implementation of this recommendation in the regions. Officials from MONEYVAL are also in attendance, along with representatives of the Polish authorities.
Following the first consultation in Buenos Aires last month, the EU Global Facility, in co-operation with the Global NPO Coalition on FATF and in co-ordination with the respective FSRBs will continue organising those regional NPO consultations around the world, with sessions scheduled to take place in
🌍 Amman (Middleeast and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) region)
🌍 Cape-Town (esaamlg org, GABAC and GIABA regions)
🌏 South-East Asia (APG region)

Training for resident agents on Beneficial Ownership identification, verification and supervision in Panama
2023-03-27 - 2023-03-31 | Panama, Panama
Panama continues fight against money laundering, terrorist financing with EU Global Facility support
Panamá City, 5 March 2023 – The Superintendency of Non-Financial Entities (SSNF) and the EU Global Facility on Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) launched on Monday a three-day workshop on the topic of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing in Panama City.
This workshop seeks to build on the work already conducted by the Panamanian authorities (bank supervisors, FIU, prosecution service and law enforcement authorities, tax authorities, ministry of economy and finance, IT administration) on the topic of “Beneficial Ownership Registers as Competent Authorities”.
In the opening remarks, Héctor Alexander, Minister of Economy and Finance and President of the National Commission against Money Laundering, as well as President of the Boar of Directors of the SSNF, said that “The Registry of Beneficial Owners is already a fully operational system, and is based on 4 pillars, which are: the registry of resident agents, the inclusion of BO information in the system, the verification process and access to the information by the competent authority in a timely manner”; “The effective implementation of this registry is part of the actions we are taking in order to complete our Action Plan with FATF, and it is the responsibility and commitment of both the private sector and the government.”
Commending the work carried out by Panama so far, Izabela Matusz, the European Union Ambassador to Panama, underlined that “Today marks the 13th activity co-organised with the EU Global Facility in Panama, which demonstrates the strong collaboration with technical assistance providers and Panama’s dedication to strengthen its AML/CFT framework in order to better comply with the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations.”
Over the next three days, Beneficial Ownership experts from Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta are going to engage with the audience on the role that their BO Registry is playing in the beneficial ownership model of their jurisdiction, the challenges they have faced and the solutions they have implemented.
EU Global Facility Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership, Alexandre Taymans, commended the “successful work and important efforts put together by the SSNF and other Panamanian authorities since the first joint activity back in November 2021”. Topics included in the agenda cover legal and regulatory considerations, supervision and onsite inspection, data analytics and the role of IT systems, as well as interagency cooperation, among others.

Scoping mission to Paraguay
2023-03-23 - 2023-03-25 | Paraguay, Paraguay
Last week, part of the EU Global Facility team was in Paraguay to conduct a scoping mission to discuss the future implementation of technical assistance activities on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.
Led by Team Leader David Hotte, the delegation began its visit at the Attorney General’s Office, where the Minister of the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPRELAD), René Fernández Bobadilla and Deputy Minister Carmen María Pereira Bogado, welcomed them. The team was accompanied by the Ambassador of the European Union in Paraguay, Javier García de Viedma.
The discussions revolved around the the key priority actions identified in the Mutual Evaluation Report of the Republic of Paraguay approved in 2022 by the GAFILAT, which reflects the needs of the country in AML/CFT.
Later on, the EU Global Facility experts met with the First Vice President, @Carolina Llanes, and Justices Luis María Benítez Riera and Alberto Martínez Simón at the Supreme Court of Justice.
Technical discussions were then led with representatives of the law enforcement agencies in charge of investigating financial crimes, namely SENAD, SENAC, the National Police, Customs and SEPRINTE.
On the last day, a meeting with judges and prosecutors specialised on AML/CFT was held, where the attendees discussed the main findings of the Evaluation and the mechanisms to be implemented to implement the necessary structural improvements to the systems of investigation, prosecution and conviction of AML/CFT crimes.

Oversight Group Meeting on the Implementation of Terrorist Financing Risk Assessments in NPOs (Argentina)
2023-03-23 | Argentina, Argentina
Today, the EU Global Facility wrapped up its first bilateral onsite activity in Argentina, which was centered on the compliance with the requirements of FATF Recommendation 8.
The successful event brought together over 40 representatives from Argentinian authorities and regulators and from local NPOs.
After reviewing in details said requirements of FATF Rec 8, participants focused on the support needed to conduct NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment as required by the Recommendation. They agreed on the next steps to be taken by both authorities/regulators and NPOs in order to further proceed with the Risk Assessment exercise.
These onsite meetings came as a follow up to several online capacity building activities started in October last year.

Beneficial Ownership workshop in Colombia
2023-03-21 - 2023-03-23 | Colombia, Colombia
In parallel to our regional event in Argentina, the EU Global Facility is also in Colombia where it launched its first onsite activity with the country.
Focused on the topic of Beneficial Ownership, the three-day event will start with peer-to-peer exchanges of experience between the Colombian tax authorities (DIAN) and several European beneficial ownership registers. This will serve to discuss the specific features and mechanisms through which beneficial ownership information can be registered, vetted and enforced.
Adriana del Pilar Solano Cantor, Deputy Director of the Tax Registry Administration in Colombia, stated that “This workshop will enable Colombia to identify good practices for the deployment of such beneficial ownership registries, the existing opportunities for improvement of the regulatory framework and IT system in Colombia and the development of new features in the registry such as the registration of the chain of ownership and control. Similarly, this exchange of experience will also serve to identify areas of improvement in the technical framework”.
For his part Alexandre Taymans, Key Expert of the EU Global Facility on Beneficial Ownership, celebrated the launch of this first beneficial ownership training in Colombia. He noted the fact that Colombia already had an operational beneficial ownership registration system and good understanding of the issues that it will face, both in terms of ensuring the availability, quality and accessibility of the information, which will ensure very fruitful discussions and exchanges. He also indicated that beyond the training and exchange of experiences, this activity was also aimed at identifying areas of future cooperation in areas where the expertise of the Global Facility could be deployed to support Colombian authorities.
On Thursday, other competent authorities from Colombia will attend a session focusing on international standards and best practices on the topic of Beneficial Ownership as well as the tools that can be developed to enhance the understanding of BO disclosure requirements.
The sessions will also cover the verification and supervision mechanisms that can be implemented by jurisdictions to ensure that frameworks are effectively implemented by both private and public sector stakeholders.

Region NPO Consultations on FATF Recommendation 8 in Latin America and the Caribbean
2023-03-20 - 2023-03-21 | Argentina, Argentina
Yesterday, we concluded the Regional Consultations on the revisions of the Best Practices Paper on Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8 in Buenos Aires, #Argentina 🇦🇷.
Civil society representatives from 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America spent two days discussing the challenges and best practices in the implementation of this recommendation in the regions. Officials from GAFILAT and Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) were also in attendance, along with representatives of the Argentinian authorities.
On the second day of the consultations, #civilsociety representatives identified the best practices, challenges and recommendations to be provided to FATF, before discussing their findings with the co-lead on the revision of the Best Practices Paper.
The EU Global Facility, in co-operation with the Global NPO Coalition on FATF and in co-ordination with the respective FSRBs will continue organising those regional NPO consultations around the world, with sessions scheduled to take place in

🇪🇺 Warsaw (MONEYVAL region)
🌍 Amman (Middleeast and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) region)
🌍 Cape-Town (esaamlg org, GABAC and GIABA regions)
🌏 South-East Asia (APG region)

Review session of Seychelles' NPO inherent risk report
2023-03-10 | The Seychelles, Seychelles
On 10 March 2023, our Key Expert on Justice/CSO will be in the Seychelles to conduct the preliminary review session of the NPO inherent risk report.
This session constitutes a follow-up to the support provided by the EU Global Facility to Seychelles in order to ensure its compliance with the requirements of the FATF Recommendation 8. It will serve as a validation session for all concerned institutions to endorse the report and ensure that document provides an accurate representation of the NPO sector.

E-workshop to support Zambia NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment
2023-03-09
The event aims to present to the regulators/authorities of Zambia the methodology and possibly next steps for the NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment necessary for ensuring better compliance with the requirements of the FATF Rec 8.

ASEAN Joint Regional Workshop on FATF Rec 8 in Indonesia
2023-03-08 - 2023-03-10 | Indonesia, Indonesia
Today, the EU Global Facility, together with the EU-funded ESIWA project supported the organisation of The ASEAN Secretariat Regional Forum Workshop on Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) in Bali, Indonesia 🇮🇩.
Supported by the European Union, the event is co-organised at the initiative of the authorities of Indonesia and LAO PDR.
Our experts together with the APG representative will participate in the three-day workshop focusing on the state of implementation of the FATF Recommendation 8 on NPOs in the region.
They will also discuss the best practices, as well as the challenges the jurisdictions are facing globally regarding the compliance with the said Recommendation.

Closing event on Jordan Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements Risk Assessment
2023-03-05 - 2023-03-07 | Jordan
Closing event on Jordan Legal Persons and Legal Arrangments Risk Assessment launched in Amman
AMMAN, 5 March 2023 – The EU Global Facility on Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) and the Jordanian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Unit (AMLU) on Sunday launched a three days workshop on the topic of Jordan Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements (LP/LA) Risk Assessment Results in Amman.
The event, which constitutes a milestone in the country’s fight on AML/CFT, marks the closing of the work started by the EU Global Facility with the Jordanian authorities in August 2021. A number of stakeholders from the AMLU, the Central Bank of Jordan and the Companies Control Department along with competent authorities have worked together on designing and implementing the assessment of the AML/CFT risks and the misuse of legal persons and legal arrangements, using a leading-edge methodology.

In her opening remarks, Head of the Anti-Money Laundering Unit of Jordan, Samya Abu Sharif, noted: “the topic of today’s workshop is an indication of the important role of all national agencies in promoting the necessary actions to combat the risks of money-laundering and terrorist financing associated with legal persons and legal arrangements at the national level.”
“Understanding the potential threats, and strengthening the system to achieve increased transparency for the legal persons and the legal arrangements and developing national programmes in partnership with the private sector to reduce their impact is a crucial objective of thjs assessment work.”
“The results of the assessment presented today will help us better understand and be directed towards high-risk aspects in order to prevent criminals from exploiting legal persons and legal arrangements in ML/TF crimes,” she added.
For his part, EU Global Facility Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership Alexandre Taymans commended the “successful work and important efforts put together by Jordan to conduct this exercise in such a structured and timely manner”.
“As the dissemination of the findings of this assessment are now launched, such a milestone calls for and paves the way for an enhanced engagement between competent authorities, as well as with the private sector to ensure that the recommendations and the mitigating measures identified by the working group will be fully implemented before the next update to the risk assessment,” he stated.
The EU Global Facility has developed a dedicated methodology for the risk assessment of legal persons and arrangements to assist partner jurisdictions with a methodology that can be tailored to their specific context.
This activity is a milestone for any country implementing a BO disclosure framework as it will help them identify the risk jurisdictions are facing from the misuse of legal vehicles both at national and international level. This risk assessment is also to be put in the context of the renewed and increasing focus the FATF’s new recommendation 24 (April 2022) has put on this challenging exercise for jurisdictions considering the scope of such exercise, the number and variety of stakeholders involved and the level of technical expertise it requires.

Inception meeting for AML/CFT Moot court
2023-02-13 - 2023-02-16 | Sweden, Sweden
Our Key Expert on Justice/CSO Mamuka Jgenti is in Sweden with partners from the Siracusa International Institute to hold the first inception meeting of the AML/CFT Moot court working group.
During those three days, representatives of the two entities will define the workplan, detailed objectives and modalities of the future Moot court.
As Swedish model and experience shall be used as a model, relevant bilateral meetings shall also be held with the selected institutions and experts.

AML/CFT Financing - Enhanced Investigations and Sanctions Awareness Workshop in Panama
2023-02-13 - 2023-02-15 | Panama, Panama
The onsite workshop on “Enhanced Investigations and Sanctions Awareness in a Terrorist Context” will cover the modalities of terrorist financing, money laundering typologies, movement of funds or targeted financial sanctions, among others.
Delivered by two Spanish Officers specialised in AML/CFT investigations, the training seeks to provide real-life examples of criminal financial investigations.
Ultimately, it seeks to strengthen investigative skills of Law Enforcement Agencies of the country.

E-workshop on Sectoral NPO Risk Assessment in Argentina
2023-02-13 | Argentina, Argentina
The EU Global Facility’s engagement on FATF Recommendation 8 with Argentina 🇦🇷 continues with an online workshop conducted today.
Focused on the sectoral NPO Risk Assessment, the meeting will also pave the ground for the onsite workshops for Argentinian authorities and NPOs planned for late March 2023.
The EU Global Facility’s engagement and cooperation with Argentina started in August 2022 and is expected to cover a number of other AML/CFT-related issues such as supervision of financial and DNFSPs, support to the FIU, improving effectiveness of financial investigation and criminal justice system, beneficial ownership and virtual assets, among others.

Scoping mission to Trinidad and Tobago
2023-02-06 - 2023-02-10
The EU Global Facility was in Trinidad and Tobago last week, to conduct a scoping mission aimed at evaluating the current state of play of the country with regards to AML/CFT and assess its request for technical assistance submitted to the European Commission.
Team Leader David Hotte and Key Expert on Law Enforcement Liam Ennis conducted a series of meetings with relevant authorities including the General Attorney, the Head of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), Dawn Spicer as well as her Deputy Executive Director, Loxly Ricketts.
They also met with the Head of the EU Delegation to Trinidad and Tobago, Peter Cavendish, with whom they discussed the way forward and proposed areas of technical assistance activities to be proposed to the Caribbean island.

Scoping and training on BOR implementation and management in Mozambique
2023-02-06 - 2023-02-09 | Mozambique, Mozambique
Ministry inaugurates first activity on Beneficial Ownership Registers in Mozambique
Led by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT, this activity comes as part of the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee launched two weeks ago to support Mozambique’s efforts to exit the FATF Grey List.
Maputo, 6 February 2023 – The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Manuel Malunga, opened this Monday a workshop on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) organised by the EU-funded project EU Global Facility on AML/CFT.
Organised in collaboration with the Mozambican authorities, the event comes as part of the technical assistance activities delivered by the EU Global Facility to the partner country on the topic of Beneficial Ownership, which officially started at the end of 2022.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Manuel Malunga said that the implementation of money laundering and terrorist financing reforms, recommended by the national strategy, constitutes a priority for the Government of Mozambique, including strengthening compliance with obligations to prevent the phenomenon in highly vulnerable in Mozambique, such as banks, insurance companies, real estate, exchange offices, casinos, law offices and gaming houses, among others.
Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Maputo, Paula Vazquez Horyaans, noted: “Money Laundering and the financing of terrorism pose a serious threat to the integrity of the economy and to the security of citizens in all countries. The #EU and its Member States have gone a long way fighting these crimes. We are happy to share with Mozambique our experience”
The three-day workshop will allow participants to exchange and further their expertise on the Financial Action Task Force standards on availability and accessibility of beneficial ownership information, the assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with the misuse of legal persons and arrangements in Mozambique, the design and implementation of mitigation measures as well as emerging trends and specific topics related to the ever increasing importance of beneficial ownership transparency throughout jurisdictions across the world.
For his part, Team Leader of the EU Global Facility David Hotte rejoiced at the very successful partnership between the EU and Mozambique, stressing: “only two weeks after the launch of the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee in Maputo, the EU Global Facility is already here, onsite, to deliver concrete but also precisely tailored support activities to the country.”
“This is a proof of the reactivity and efficiency of our group of experts, and also of the proactive and collaborative approach of the Mozambican authorities to strengthen their AML/CFT frameworks, which should be commended,” he added.
Mozambique’s efforts regarding the establishment of a beneficial ownership register is being supported by EU Global Facility together with the World Bank

BO Operating Model and BOR implementation training in South Africa
2023-01-30 - 2023-02-02 | South Africa, South Africa
The EU Global Facility’s Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership Alexandre Taymans is in Pretoria, South Africa 🇿🇦, this week, to oversee a training on Beneficial Ownership.
Starting on Monday 30 January 2023, the visit was preceded by an online briefing session with senior management of the FIU, Central Bank, and other key stakeholders, which served to gather background information and better assess the desired outcomes and areas of focus for the January mission.
Today, strategic discussions began at the FIU offices, gathering all members of the BO inter departmental committee (BO IDC) in South Africa, namely the Financial Intelligence Center, the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the Companies And Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), the prosecution services, the law enforcement services, and tax authorities, among others.
Topics covered during the first three days will include:

– BO transparency international standards and practices
– Strategic and operational challenges and solutions
– The role of BO register in the setting-up of an effective BO Operating Model

On the fourth day, participants shall be divided into smaller groups to review the application of BO transparency and relevant challenges in their specific domain, through sessions tailored respectively to SAMLIT members and law enforcement on one hand and to the BO IDC members on the other.
These sessions will consist of real-life case studies in order to 1) promote debate amongst participants 2) address the actual issues that participant face and; 3) provide pragmatic proposals to address them.
Sessions on BO register implementation and management will go through the implementation life cycle of a BO register and discuss the steps that South Africa should take to anticipate the planning and implementation of South Africa’s centralised BO register.

Participation in the OACPS workshop on AMLCFT
2023-01-26 - 2023-01-30 | Mauritius, Mauritius
The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT, represented by its Team Leader David Hotte, is taking part in the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) workshop on Tax Governance, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism in Mauritius 🇲🇺.
Tackling the topic of Tax Governance and Compliance with AML/CFT, the five-day event kicked off yesterday, in the presence of H.E Mahen Kumar Seerutum, Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance of Mauritius.
David Hotte was invited to present the work conducted by the EU Global Facility across the ACP region, including its three-year involvement in Mauritius, alongside other technical assistance partners.
During his presentation, he emphasised the importance of subsidiarity in technical assistance, and the need for complementarity between all EU-funded projects and TA providers in partner countries.
“We need to all work together to best support our partners in the region, avoiding duplication of expertise and delivering the most tailored assistance to each country,” he said, insisting that “whilst some challenges are shared by countries in the region, there are also stark specificities that require our experts’ most dedicated attention to ensure efficiency and sustainability of support.”
In parallel to the conference, he also met with EU ambassadors from a number of partner countries in the region, including:
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago , where the EU Global Facility will conduct a scoping mission in the coming weeks to assess the country’s needs with regards to AML/CFT
🇯🇲 Jamaica, where the project has been delivering technical assistance activities since October 2020
🇭🇹 Haïti, whose authorities have been soliciting the EU Global Facility for future support on AML/CFT
As well as 🇲🇿 Mozambique, which witnessed the successful launch of the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee (TACC) last week in the premises of the European Union Delegation in Maputo. The event was attended by Mozambican authorities and representatives of technical assistance providers (IMF, UNODC and World Bank, among others).

Working visit to Algeria
2023-01-23 - 2023-01-27 | Algeria, Algeria
A delegation from the EU Global Facility is in Algiers from 23rd to 26th January to conduct a working visit with several objectives:

– On Monday, the mission started with a meeting on the technical assistance provided by the EU Global Facility to Algerian authorities, which aims to support the amendment of the Algerian law on AML/CFT. This meeting involved representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Central Office for the Repression of Corruption and the President and members of the CTRF Council (Algeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit).

In addition to discussions on the evolution of laws on AML/CFT around the world, the EU Global Facility experts tackled the question of “are the changes made to the law sufficient for a good alignment with international standards?.”
Later during the day, a workshop was organised to review and analyse the Algerian AML/CFT law, for which the Algerian CTRF requested the Global Facility’s expertise.

From Tuesday to Thursday, different workshops and meetings will be organised to cover the implementation of the Technical Assistance Coordination Committee (TACC), the technical assistance programme for the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) sector, and the national risk assessment of virtual assets.
The visit will conclude with a meeting with representatives from the EU Delegation to Algiera.

Follow up e-training of Jamaican Prosecutors and LEAs on Asset Recovery
2023-01-23 - 2023-01-27 | Jamaica, Jamaica
This week, the EU Global Facility continues its engagement with #Jamaica 🇯🇲.

Today marked the first day of an online training, which comes as a follow up of previous e-sessions targeted at Jamaican prosecutors and Law Enforcement Agencies.
Our experts will cover the topic of asset recovery in cases of money laundering and terrorist financing. They will delve into much more details about operations and conduct of relevant agencies in order to achieve efficient asset recovery.
Asset recovery is a key pillar of countries’ approach to AML/CFT. It is vital for national authorities to develop effective systems to trace, seize and confiscate stolen funds and assets, and to return them to the country of origin.
