Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) from Qatar and India convene in New Delhi

in the fight against the menace of money laundering and terrorist funding Among other things

INN/New Delhi, @Infodeaofficial

Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) from India and Qatar convene in New Delhi to strengthen their collaboration in combating the threat of money laundering and terrorism financing. The two FIUs discussed a variety of topics, including strategic analysis, public and private collaborations, the usage of IT systems and tools, and virtual digital assets.

On November 4 and 5, 2024, in New Delhi, a delegation of nine people led by His Excellency Mr. Sheikh Ahmed Al Thani, Head of Financial Intelligence Unit-Qatar (FIU-Qatar), paid a visit to Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) in the presence of Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Head, FIU-IND. The visit was a major step in fortifying the two FIUs’ relationship and their will to support one another in combating the threat of money laundering and terrorism funding.

H.E. Mr. Sheikh Ahmed Al Thani and Shri Aggarwal talked about the AML/CFT regime’s present procedures during the visit, as well as potential future areas of cooperation between the two organisations. FIU-IND’s experience with virtual digital assets service providers (VDA-SPs), the public-private partnership initiative of FIU-IND (FPAC), the private-private partnership for Alliance of Reporting Entities in India For AML/CFT (ARIFAC), strategic analysis, and the various tools used by the two FIUs were among the topics covered in the meeting, which was beneficial for both parties. Additionally, strategies for efficient information sharing were examined and debated.

The IT system (FINNET 2.0) utilised by FIU-IND was highly valued by FIU-Qatar, which also noted that it is among the most advanced systems utilised by any FIU. They indicated a strong desire to learn more about FIU-IND’s Private-Private Partnership Initiative, which promotes cooperation between private sector participants in the AML/CFT framework. FIU-IND also planned two on-site visits for the Qatari delegation to give them insights into how AML/CFT stakeholders operate, and these visits proved to be very beneficial.

Through the informal sharing of information on offences pertaining to money laundering and terrorism funding, FIU-Qatar and FIU-IND have collaborated over the years. The FIUs have been actively involved in a number of projects undertaken by the international organisations FATF and Egmont Group, both of which they are members of. In addition to the aforementioned, on May 6, 2016, both FIUs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on information exchange in connection to money laundering, financing of terrorism, and related predicate offences in an effort to strengthen collaboration.

H.E. Mr. Sheikh Ahmed Al Thani requested Shri Aggarwal to visit FIU-Qatar in the near future and thanked him for the cordial welcome and hospitality shown to him and his delegation during the visit.