Last week, the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU) attended the Egmont Group of Financial  Intelligence Units’ 30th Plenary held in Paris and hosted by TRACFIN, the French FIU. 

A statement from the Government follows below:

The Plenary brought together over 400 delegates from the Egmont Group and its partners to  discuss strategies for combating economic crime with thematic discussions on developing the  future workforce of the FIU, how will the future FIU use technology and the FIU’s role in addressing  emerging crime types. 

The GFIU participated in the Information Exchange Working Group, which aims to increase the  quality and quantity of timely information exchanges between FIUs based on operational and  strategic analysis, and the Policy and Procedures Working Group, which aims to develop  operational policy and provide advice on strategic issues. 

The Plenary also provided an opportunity to sign Memoranda of Understanding with three other  FIUs - Taiwan, Ukraine and Algeria -to formalise and strengthen global partnerships in line with the  GFIU’s strategic priorities. 

The Director of the GFIU, Edgar Lopez, said: “The thematic discussions in this Plenary are critical  areas of modern FIUs and demonstrated the importance of equipping FIU professionals with the  skills and training required in the evolving threat landscape. The transformative potential of  advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics require the GFIU to  maintain its capabilities in analysis to ensure that we adapt our strategies to tackle emerging  threats, such as complex financial cases from cyber-enabled fraud to cryptocurrency crimes.” 

The Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, the Hon Nigel Feetham KC MP, said: "The Egmont  Group’s work in identifying thematic areas and strategic issues for FIUs to focus on assists  Gibraltar’s ongoing efforts to protect our financial centre from threats posed by criminal and  terrorist networks. I look forward to seeing developments by and in the GFIU regarding the areas  raised at the Plenary and as a result of the Memoranda signed."