Meeting the needs of States and jurisdictions
Strengthening financial intelligence units
The technical assistance component of the Global Programme against Money-Laundering, Proceeds of Crime and the Financing of Terrorism aims to meet the needs of States and jurisdictions at the national and/or regional level in the implementation of policies against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. To do so, a wide range of activities is carried out, including:
Through the Global Programme, UNODC continues to focus on building the capacity of Member States. Hands-on advice and assistance are being provided to practitioners fighting money-laundering and the financing of terrorism, including law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, financial regulators and staff of financial intelligence units. In keeping with the "power of partnership" theme set by UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa in the UNODC Operational Priorities, staff of the Global Programme have joined forces with Governments and several international bodies to provide such assistance, which in many cases was co-funded by the partner or host Government. The following intergovernmental organizations have partnered with UNODC: Commonwealth Secretariat, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, Aga Khan Foundation, Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and FATF-style regional bodies, European Union, Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the Department of Justice of the United States, as well as several of the Governments that have received assistance.
The Global Programme has achieved observer status with FATF and the FATF-style regional bodies, the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, the Select Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures (MONEYVAL) of the Council of Europe, the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money-Laundering Group, the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force and the Inter-governmental Action Group against Money-Laundering and Terrorist Financing in West Africa.
Assistance in establishing financial intelligence units has become a priority in terms of the technical assistance activities of the Global Programme. A financial intelligence unit is responsible for receiving, analysing and disseminating to the competent authorities disclosures of financial information concerning suspicious proceeds of crime in order to counter money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. Such units provide a means to rapidly exchange confidential information between financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities, which is why they have become an important part of States' machinery against money-laundering.
Many financial intelligence units participate in the Egmont Group, a forum established in 1995 enabling its 106 members to identify best practices and promote international cooperation in the fight against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. Such cooperation can include the exchange of financial intelligence information on a secure computer network (the Egmont Secure Website). Through the Global Programme, UNODC participates in Egmont Group meetings and conducts workshops in cooperation with the Group.
The Global Programme is also active in a project to elaborate a more automated exchange of information between financial intelligence units in the European Union. For more information on that project, go to http://www.fiu.net.
