EU AML/CFT Global Facility

International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property
2022-11-14
Today is International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property, a topic central to the fight on AML/CFT.
“Held every year on 14 November, the International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property reminds the world that theft, looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property takes place in every country, robbing people of their culture, identity and history, and that we have to work together to combat this crime,” states the UNESCO on its website.
The fight against illicit trade of cultural goods is at the heart of the EU Global Facility’s work, which includes a series of regional conferences on “the use of Anti money Laundering & Countering Terrorist Financing (AMLCFT) in the investigation of Art and Antiquities Criminality”.
Started in Cairo in June 2022, the conferences seek to lead to the production of a manual on good practices and lessons learned on the fight against this traffic. The second iteration is foreseen in South East Asia in the beginning of 2023.

E-training of Kyrgyz prosecutors and FIU on asset recovery
2022-11-14 - 2022-11-18 | Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan

E-workshop on FATF Rec 8 for Zambia regulators/authorities
2022-11-09 - 2022-11-11 | Zambia, Zambia
This online workshop is targeted at the authorities and regulators from Zambia and aims to prepare the onsite workshop to be held in December 2022 in the partner country.
This will aim to ensure the re-rating of the country with regards to FATF Recommendation 8 implementation.

Joint EU Global Facility/GAFILAT/Panama Regional Conference on Beneficial Ownership
2022-11-07 - 2022-11-09 | Panama, Panama
Regional conference on Beneficial Ownership gathers 18 Latin American countries
Vice-minister of Finance in Charge of Panama, Manuel Sánchez O., on Monday inaugurated a regional conference on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) titled “Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Frameworks and risk-assessment of corporate vehicles in the GAFILAT Region”.
The event is witnessing the participation of 60 high-level experts from 18 Latin American countries.
Co-organised by the EU Global Facility, the GAFILAT Secretariat and the National Commission against Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction of Panama (CNBC) of the Ministry of Economy and Finances of Panama (MEF).
“Panama has continued to strengthen its prevention system and technical capacities; therefore, we are aware that the fight against money laundering is a joint effort,” said vice-minister of Finance in Charge Sánchez.
Izabela Matusz, EU Ambassador to Panama, noted: “every country needs a transparent, reliable and sustainable financial system. In this way, it will defend itself against the influence of organised crime on its institutions and can protect the interests of the state and the nation.”
The regional event aims to allow participants to exchange and further their expertise on FATF standards on availability and accessibility of beneficial ownership information, the assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated with the misuse of legal persons and arrangements in the GAFILAT region, 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.
In his welcoming remarks, EU GF Team Leader David Hotte, thanked the GAFILAT and Panamanian authorities for their support, noting: “we are particularly happy to see such a high level of attendance in this first regional conference the EU Global Facility is organising in Latin America. Panama has been a trusted partner country of the project, where we have delivered 10 activities since our first mission back in October 2021.”
“Support to partner countries’ Beneficial Ownership frameworks is a key pillar of the EU GF’s work around the globe. So far, we have assisted more than 11 jurisdictions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe on BO at a bilateral level while reaching almost 70 countries through regional conferences.”
For his part, Executive Director of GAFILAT, Esteban Fullin, stated: “making Beneficial Ownership information available is key to having a successful AML/CFT system, GAFILAT is committed to mitigate any possible misuse of corporate vehicles to allow money launderers and criminal organisations to profit their illicit gains. Having the chance to share experiences and discuss good practices on how to tackle this issue is key to implement an effective system.”

E-training of NPOs on FATF Rec 8 for Argentina
2022-11-01 - 2022-11-04 | Argentina, Argentina
This e-training of NPOs on the FATF Rec 8 is the first activity implemented with the representatives of the CSOs of Argentina.
It aims at raising their awareness and knowledge of the requirements of FATF Recommendation 8.
The event will also serve to prepare NPO contribution to the NPO Sectoral Risk Review to be conducted by the authorities/regulators of Argentina with the support provided by the EU Global Facility.

E-training on NPO sectoral Risk Assessment for South African regulators/authorities
2022-10-27 - 2022-10-28 | South Africa, South Africa
The e-training will target South African regulators and authorities and cover the topic of “NPO sectoral Risk Assessment”
The two-day activity aims to support the partner country’s authorities in the preparation of its workplan for the elaboration of the NPO Sectoral Risk Assessment.
It is part of a series of activities organised by the EU Global Facility to support South Africa to enhance its AML/CFT measures and improve its general framework.

Scoping mission to Mozambique
2022-10-26 - 2022-11-02 | Mozambique, Mozambique
A delegation of the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT, led by Team Leader David Hotte and Senior Expert on Justice Victoria Palau was in Mozambique to conduct a scoping mission from 26 October to 2 November 2022.
Organised to respond to the request for technical assistance recently submitted by the Mozambican authorities, the mission started with a meeting with the Technical Multisectorial Group on AML/CFT of Mozambique, composed of representatives from various ministries and institutions, and chaired by the national coordination/Director General of the FIU.
The EU GF team then met with a number of relevant local stakeholders, including the director of the FIU and members of his team.
This mission will ultimately aim to establish a work programme in line with the EU GFT rules of engagement and principles.
The scoping mission was conducted jointly with a representative of the AML/THB Great Horn of Africa project and will be coordinated by the EU Delegation in Maputo.

Workshop on Beneficial Ownership registers as new competent authorities in Malta
2022-10-26 - 2022-10-28 | Malta, Malta
Beneficial Ownership experts from EU convene in Malta for experts working group
Valetta, 28 October 2022 – The EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (EU GF-AML/CFT) on Wednesday 26th of October 2022 launched the second meeting of its Expert Working Group on the topic of “Beneficial Ownership Registers as Competent Authorities”, in cooperation with the Malta Business Registry (MBR).
Gathering 19 experts from 12 EU Member States, the session follows a kick off event that took place in Brussels in June 2022, where discussions revolved around the topics of Beneficial Ownership (BO) Registers evolving into competent authorities, which included discussion on verification of BO information, onsite supervision, typologies and trends analysis. Malta was represented by Dr Geraldine Spiteri Lucas from the MBR and Mr Alfred Zammit from the FIAU.
“Our ultimate goal is to ‘handbook’ tangible proposals and best practices that can be made available to stakeholders and jurisdictions who are seeking to build or enhance national beneficial ownership capabilities,” explained EU Global Facility Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership Alexandre Taymans, noting that “the purpose of these sessions is to delve deeper into the topic, discuss challenges and lessons that can be learnt and applied for technical assistance to the benefit of the EU GF partner countries. This way we can put forward an approach for more effective national and cross border beneficial ownership disclosure frameworks.”
For her part Dr Geraldine Spiteri Lucas, MBR Chief Executive Officer, explained Malta’s experience in arriving where it is today, which is having an accurate and an up-to-date Beneficial Ownership Register. ‘The effectiveness of the BO Register revolved around accuracy and accessibility by competent authorities and subject persons. Most importantly, it is crucial to have all the entities work together hand in hand. It is indeed of great pleasure for Malta to have welcomed representatives from registries across Europe discussing a subject that is dominating amongst registers fora’ said Dr. Spiteri Lucas.
Alfred Zammit, Deputy Director at the Financial Intelligence Unit of Malta, explained that Beneficial Ownership registries are becoming an increasingly important component in the fight against ML/FT, but transitioning from a registry to a competent authority is easier said than done. Sharing best practice and exploring different forms of cooperation, including with FIUs and other authorities, is therefore very-much needed and a step that we and the community all stand to gain from.
Support to partner countries’ Beneficial Ownership frameworks is a key pillar of the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT’s work around the globe. So far, the project has assisted more than 11 jurisdictions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe at a bilateral level. A number of regional conferences was also organised to enhance international cooperation in this regard.

National conference on supervision of lawyers and accountants in Jordan
2022-10-25 - 2022-10-26 | Jordan
The EU AML/CFT Global Facility and the Jordanian National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Committee (NAMLCTFC) are organising a two-day workshop on “Training in AML/CFT for legal professionals and accountants”, targeted at some 90 participants from Jordan.
The workshop will be divided into two thematic days consisting of an outreach workshop on ML/TF for legal professionals and accountants. More specifically it will review how legal professions and accountants, and their self-regulated bodies, adequately apply AML/CFT preventive measures commensurate with their risks, and report suspicious transactions.
In the second day, a technical training for ML/TF self-regulated bodies will be delivered. It will tackle ways in which self-regulated bodies of legal professions and accountants supervise, monitor and regulate legal professions and accountants with AML/CFT requirements commensurate with their risks.
The objectives of the outreach programme are to ensure that:

o Operators in the regulated accountant and legal professional sectors become familiar with obligations such as KYC, customer due diligence, STRs reporting and the risk-based approach;
o Their self-regulated bodies become familiar with basics AML/CFT requirements, and their supervisory and monitoring tasks: supervision, monitoring of legal professions and accountants for compliance with AML/CFT requirements commensurate with their risks;
o The outreach programme is also designed as a pedagogical tool to enable the regulators to educate and support DNFBPs in understanding and implementing their obligations.

3rd Meeting of the High Level Experts Working Group
2022-10-25 - 2022-10-27 | Jordan
High level experts from the judiciary and financial intelligence fields will partake in a two-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 in Aqaba, Jordan, this will mark the third 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”.
This third edition of the event aimed at reviewing the replies received from different international institutions on the questionnaire elaborated during the previous meetings and shared with the relevant international fora.
Ultimately, 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.

The Experts Working Group is part of a series of activities organised by the EU GF-AML/CFT and the Siracusa International Institute aimed at strengthening international judicial co-operation and the efficient application of existing MLA standards and international instruments by judges and prosecutors.

Virtual assets National risk assessment methodology in Jordan
2022-10-23 - 2022-10-24 | Jordan
“There is no right or wrong way to develop a national risk assessment methodology on virtual assets. The only right way is the one that WORKS for your country,” says our Italian expert specialised on the investigation of complex financial crime schemes (cryptocurrency, hacking incidents, ransomware scams).
She speaks during Day 2 of our workshop on Virtual Assets national risk assessment methodology in Amman, Jordan ????????.
The two-day event witnesses the participation of representatives from the Central Bank, the Judicial Council, the Public Security Directorate, The Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Unit and the Jordan Securities Commission, among others.
Led by our Key Expert on Regulation/FIU Arnaud Stien, the training is being delivered by Egyptian expert on virtual assets Amr Rashed as well as experts from Mauritius and Italy.
Topics covered during the workshop include:

–The status of virtual assets in Jordan
– FATF Requirements
– Risk Assessment of Virtual Assets building blocks
– The current state of VASPs in Jordan
– Stages of risk assessment
– Examples from other Risk Assessments
– The way forward with Jordan’s VA Risk Assessment

This training is part of a series of four activities organised in Amman this week, including a regional conference on “AML/CFT for Legal Professionals and Accountants” taking place on Tuesday 25 October 2022.

Exchange sessions Panama/EU asset recovery offices
2022-10-20 - 2022-11-04 | Panama, Panama
???????? A series of online sessions is being organised by the EU Global Facility on “Asset Recovery: Presentation of different models of Asset Recovery Offices in the European Union”.
Following the recent onsite activity on AML and tax crime organised in October in Panama, the Panama General Prosecutor Office expressed the country’s interest in learning about EU models and best practices on assets recovery.
As a result, the EU GF organised a number of e-sessions with representatives from the Assets Recovery Offices (AROs) from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland.
Sessions, which began on 20 October, are scheduled to take place throughout the two coming weeks, targeted at around 15 senior prosecutors from Panama.
Ultimately, these activities will inform the new law on assets recovery currently being discussed at Panama’s Parliament.

E-workshop on FATF REC 8 Risk Assessment elaboration for the Seychelles
2022-10-20 - 2022-10-21 | The Seychelles, Seychelles
On 20-21 October, the EU Global Facility will continue its technical assistance activities with the Seychelles, with the delivery of an online workshop on the subject of FATF Recommendation 8.
This online workshop will be targeted at the regulators and competent authorities from the partner country and will focus on the preparation of a workplan for the elaboration of the NPO Sectoral risk assessment.

REC 8 e training for Argentina's regulators
2022-10-17 - 2022-10-21 | Argentina, Argentina
On 17-19 October 2022, the EU Global Facility is officially launching its engagement with new Latin American partner country, Argentina.
The project is delivering an e training on FATF REC 8 for Regulators.
This activity will serve to create the basis for the follow up work envisaged by the EU GF, namely an engagement workplan that includes the preparation of the Sectoral NPO Risk Assessment for Argentina.

IO 7 workshop in Panama
2022-10-11 - 2022-10-14 | Panama, Panama
Panama receives several training on money laundering, tax offence from EU-funded Global Facility
Panama City, 10 October 2022 – The EU-funded Global Facility on AML/CFT on Monday launched a series of training on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) in Panama City, which aim to support the country’s efforts to enhance its AML/CFT system.
Co-organised with the National Commission against Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CNBC) of Panama, the training will span over the course of three days, targeting some 50 participants from various Panamean entities.
Experts from Andorra, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Ukraine will deliver sessions on the topic of tax crime committed abroad as well as the importance of international cooperation in combating those crimes.
Opening the event, the presiding magistrate María Eugenia López Arias highlighted such an important event and thanked for sparing no effort in designing and implementing this training and support program, in obtaining a product made to measure for the needs of our country, taking into account all the angles that are generated by the inter-institutional participation required by the effective war against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
“The Republic of Panama, without a doubt, is determined to sharpen the pencil in its strategies and rectify the deficiencies, so that the crimes and activities of money laundering are investigated and their authors prosecuted and subjected to effective, proportional and dissuasive”, maintained the presiding magistrate.
For his part, Vice-minister of Finance of Panama, Jorge Almengor, stated:“Panama has the capacity to investigate and prosecute tax crime commited abroad, as well as to provide constructive and timely international cooperation. Since Panama considered tax offenses as a predicate offense of ML in 2019, various investigations have been initiated, generated either by the use of UAF products, international cooperation, the Task Force or by the Public Ministry based on the Action Protocol. This reflects the good inter-institutional coordination and effectiveness of our system.”
The training is part of a series of activities organised by the EU Global Facility to support Panama in strengthening its AML/CFT frameworks and upholding its compliance standards in this regard. More specifically, the technical assistance focuses on Panama’s fulfilment of the immediate results 5 and 7 of the Financial Action Task Force as adapted to the needs and priorities established by Panama.
“Organised crime and terrorism threaten our peaceful coexistence and it is on the basis of national and international collaboration that we must combat illicit movements of capital under a clear and joint vision, based on the experience of the international organisations that promote a state of welfare and justice,” said Adolfo Campos, Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Panama in his welcoming remarks.

E-training on Asset Confiscation & Management for DRC
2022-10-10 - 2022-10-14 | DRC, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Last week, the EU Global Facility delivered an e-training on Asset Confiscation and Management to representatives of the Fonds de Lutte contre le Crime Organisé – FOLUCO from the DRC.
Delivered by the Director of the Central Organ for Seizure and Confiscation (OCSC) of Belgium, Jean-Michel Verelst, the 5-day activity covered topics such as the management of seized assets, informal international cooperation (via ARO/CARIN networks) and a number of case studies.
This course follows the recent working visit conducted last August in the DRC

IO 5 workshop in Panama
2022-10-10 - 2022-10-14 | Panama, Panama
Public and Private sector Beneficial Ownership training in Panama
Enhancing capacity and coordination of AML/CFT actors
Panama City, 10-13 October 2022 – A capacity building training on “Implementation, Management and Use of the Beneficial Ownership Registration System” was delivered this week by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT in cooperation with the National Commission against Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CNBC) of Panama and the Superintendencia de Sujetos no Financieros, as part of a program aimed at supporting the country’s sustained efforts to strengthen its AML/CFT system.
This event included various stakeholders of the beneficial ownership disclosure cycle in Panama, including Supervisors and competent authorities (e.g., UAF, DGI, Public Registry, Supervision Authorities), the SSNF, Resident agents and other DNFBPs.
This series of events witnessed the attendance of the Vice-Minister of Finance, Jorge Almengor, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marta Elida Gordón, the Superintendent of the SSNF, Dayra Carrizo Castillero and the Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Panama, Adolfo Campos.
Opening the weeklong event, the Vice-minister of Finance of Panama, Jorge Almengor, stated: “ “We reiterate our country’s commitment, which is shown by our concrete actions to strengthen the money laundering and terrorist financing prevention system,”. Almengor highlighted that the presentation of the Guide is generated as part of the implementation of Law No. 129 of March 17, 2020, which creates the Single Private System for the Registry of Final Beneficiaries of Legal Entities and its regulatory Decrees.
Vice-Minister Gordón emphasized that “(The) initiatives such as this Guide, are part of the fundamental building blocks of the regulatory and operational reforms which allow us to guarantee the integrity and transparency of all legal persons and arrangements throughout the country, in accordance with the international standards which we have committed to ».
For its part, the SSNF underlined the importance of the work undertaken by Panama and SSNF over the last few years to achieve delisting from the FATF list. “It has involved the establishment of a legal framework in line with international standards, but also the development of tools to assist the private sector and resident agents in their work of identifying, verifying and registering beneficial owners,” explained Dayra Carrizo, Superintendent of SSNF.
She added: “The effectiveness of the mechanisms put in place in Panama depends on the commitment of all stakeholders, and noted the importance resident agents are playing in the institutional set-up of Panama for which they are a key component. These workshops aimed to strengthen the basis for coordination between these stakeholders which commitment is paramount for Panama to be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the measures taken to ensure the availability and accessibility of BO information in Panama.”
Over the course of four days, more than 500 participants attended the training onsite and online.
“This demonstrate the huge interest and commitment in the subject matter, and is the materialisation of the efforts undertaken by Panama with regards to its compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) requirements related to transparency of legal persons and arrangements, amongst the most challenging FATF Recommendation, and one for which the effectiveness of the measures taken is likewise most difficult to establish and demonstrate,” stated Alexandre Taymans, Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership for the EU Global Facility.
Experts from the SSNF and the Global Facility delivered sessions covering a wide range of topics including the FATF and EU standards, the newly published SSNF’s Beneficial Ownership Guidance, the practical functioning of the Panamanian BOR, the role and strategy of the SSNF to guarantee compliance with the Beneficial Ownership identification and registration requirements. The sessions also included various case studies and examples that fostered discussion between participants on how, in practice, beneficial owners should be identified and their information verified.

EU GF/CEPOL regional conference on REC 8 in Tunisia
2022-10-10 - 2022-10-12 | Tunisie, Tunisia
Today, Monday 10 October 2022, the EU Global Facility kicked off a three-day regional workshop in Tunis ???????? on the implementation of the FATF Recommendation 8 for the representatives of Law Enforcement Agencies and CSOs from the MENA region.
The regional workshop is co-organised with CEPOL and the UNOCT with the active involvement of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF.
Titled “Countering Financing Terrorism and Risk Assessment of the NPO Sector”, the event is also witnessing the participation of representatives from Argentina ????????, Turkiye ????????and the Republic of Moldova ????????.
“The co-organised nature of this event, as well as the audience representing various players engaged in the implementation of @FATF Rec 8, embody the approach followed by the EU GF to ensure dialogue and coordination between parties. These are pre-requisites for the effective implementation of the requirements of said Recommendation,” said EU GF Team Leader David Hotte in his opening remarks.
The workshop was opened with the statements by the co-organisers, as well as the EU Delegation in Tunis and the representatives of the host country.
The programme of the regional workshop will be built around a number of thematic areas, namely:

– Actual CFT trends in the NPO sector
– The NPO sector Risk Assessment process
– Data collection
– Assessing Inherent Risk

E-workshop on BO for the Seychelles
2022-10-06 | The Seychelles, Seychelles

E-training on investigation and prosecution of financial crimes for South African Justice/LEAs
2022-10-03 - 2022-10-07 | South Africa, South Africa
Launch of our joint Justice/Law Enforcement Agencies e-training for South Africa today. ????????
With this weeklong activity, the EU Global Facility continues its technical assistance activities with the authorities of South Africa, which started last week.
Attended by more than 75 representatives of the LEAs and prosecution of the partner country, the online training focuses on the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes. It also marks our first activity with the partner state under the Justice and LEA components.

E-training of regulators/authorities of South Africa on FATF Rec 8
2022-09-26 - 2022-09-30 | South Africa, South Africa
Today, the EU Global Facility kicked off its first activity with South Africa ????????, in the form of an e-training on Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8.
Opened by Ambassador of the European Union to South Africa, Sandra Kramer, the Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre of South Africa, Xolisile Khanyile, and EU GF Team Leader, David Hotte, the online training will span over the course of four days.
It is targeted at regulators and authorities of South Africa, and seeks to recall the main criteria and requirements of the FATF Recommendation on Not-for-Profit Organisations.
This constitutes one of the main topics of the EU Global Facility’s engagement with South Africa, which has recently been agreed with the partner country’s authorities.

Visit to South Africa
2022-09-19 - 2022-09-20 | South Africa, South Africa
This week, Team Leader David Hotte and Key Expert on Beneficial Ownership Alexandre Taymans carried out a visit to South Africa ????????, building on the initial engagement of the EU Global Facility with the country.
The visit started with a meeting with the IDC BOT (Inter-departemental committee on BO transparency), the comittee in charge of the BO transparency reforms in the country where both parties discussed the workplan proposed by the EU Global Facility to the partner country.
Also in discussions: the future activities to be delivered in the coming weeks and months.
The meeting was attendez by representatives from the FIU, the CIPC (Ministry of #Economy), the Master of courts (Ministry of #Justice) and South Africa’s revenue service (Ministry of #Finances)
????The IDC BOT is tasked with engaging with the various relevant stakeholders on BO transparency from both the public and private sector.

Onsite training for Regulators on Rec 8 in Turkiye
2022-09-19 - 2022-09-23 | Turkey, Turkey
Following initial work conducted by the EU Global Facility online in the past month, the collaboration with Turkiye steps up, with an onsite mission conducted by a group of key experts from the EU GF.
Some 100 auditors from the General Directorate of Relations with Civil Society have convened to the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkiye to partake in a 3-day training on the review and analysis of the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8. The training will specifically focus on the existing standards in Turkiye and the good practices in other states.
The event was officially opened on Tuesday 20 September by the Deputy Governor of Balikesir region, the Director General of the General Directorate on Relations with the Civil Society, the Head of Political Section of the EU Delegation in Ankara and the EU GF Key Expert on Justice/CSOs Mamuka Jgenti.
Ultimately, the event will aim to delve deeper into the topic of Rec 8, discuss challenges and lessons learnt before putting forward an approach for more effective national and cross border beneficial ownership disclosure frameworks.

Joint regional conference on BO in Zambia
2022-09-13 - 2022-09-15 | Zambia, Zambia
Press Release
Regional conference on beneficial ownership gathers 18 African countries representatives in Zambia
Lusaka, 13 September 2022 – The EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (EU GF-AML/CFT) on Tuesday,13th September 2022 kicked off a regional event on Beneficial Ownership (BO) in the field of anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, in collaboration with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) Secretariat and the Financial Intelligence Centre of the Republic of Zambia (FIC).
Held under the title “Regional Workshop on Enhancing Beneficial Ownership Frameworks: Evolving Technical Standard and their Effective Implementation”, the three-day event is witnessing the participation of 80 representatives from 18 countries of the African continent, as well as a number of attendees online.
In her opening remarks, Acting Director General of the FIC, Liya Tembo commended a “timely workshop that represents a key milestone towards improved systems to tackle corruption, tax evasion, money laundering and terrorism financing in the ESAAMLG region”. She emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation and shared BO Information related to financial and economic crimes, encouraging countries to “build systems and learn about what other countries are doing to change legislation, how they maintain accurate and update BO information and how this information should be shared with stakeholders in the value chain of AML/CFT regime.”
For his part, EU Global Facility Team Leader David Hotte, welcomed the participation of representatives from 18 countries, saying “it is particularly impressive to witness the attendance of so many countries, which shows African nations’ committment to the enhancement of beneficial ownership frameworks within their respective jurisdictions. I am confident that these three days of exchanges will yield great results with regards to transparency of legal persons and legal arrangements.”
The workshop, which will consist of interactive exchanges and thematic presentations, will allow participants to exchange best practices and further deepen their expertise on BO-related matters.
“Due to the current challenges faced by countries in understanding the issues of BO, the ESAAMLG is having 18 of its member countries participate in this important event aimed at building more awareness on how countries can comply with the Financial Action Task Force’s standards on BO and how to implement relevant measures. Our Secretariat is confident that the workshop will go a long way in assisting members to come up with effective systems to handle BO,” stated Expert Joseph Jagada from the ESAAMLG secretariat.
The conference is part of a series of technical assistance activities delivered by the EU GF-AML/CFT to third countries around the world. Demand driven and tailored made, the support is provided on a bilateral, regional and thematic basis. As of September 2022, the project has delivered bilateral assistance to 16 countries globally.

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The regional workshop “Enhancing Effectiveness of Beneficial Ownership Frameworks: Evolving Technical Standard and their Effective Implementation” will take place in a hybrid format (onsite and online) on 13-15 September 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The regional event is co-organised by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT, the ESAAMLG Secretariat and the Financial Intelligence Centre of the Republic of Zambia (FIC).
The workshop has been designed to allow participants to exchange and further their expertise in the following areas :

The FATF and EU standards related to beneficial ownership and the transparency of legal persons (LP) and legal arrangements (LA),
The importance of country-wide assessments of the ML/TF risks associated with LP/LA as well, the methodology developed by the Global Facility and case studies presented by Ghana, Mauritius and the United Kingdom,
The role (public) beneficial ownership registers is expected to play in future AML/CFT frameworks, the Global Facility’s methodology for their implementation as well as country case studies,
The role of FI/DNFBP in ensuring the availability and accessibility of beneficial ownership information within a jurisdiction,
The practical tools and solutions available to supervisors to design and implement risk-based supervision strategies on beneficial ownership identification/verification obligations,
The practical considerations and concrete actions a jurisdiction can take when implementing a ML/TF risk assessment of LP/LA, engaging in a ESAAMLG Mutual Evaluation and/or implementing an FATF/ICRG Action Plan.

55th Anniversary of the Bank of Mauritius
2022-09-08 - 2022-09-11 | Mauritius, Mauritius
The EU Global Facility Team Leader David Hotte delivered a presentation on AML/CFT Developments at the Emerald Jubilee (55th Anniversary) of the Bank of Mauritius ???????? this week, alongside representatives from 20 Central Banks from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Held under the title “Adapting to our Future”, the event was inaugurated by Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Mauritius’ Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Renganaden Padayachy and the Governor of the BoM, Harvesh Seegolam.
In his welcoming remarks, Mr Seegolam insisted: “there is no one-size-fits-all solution as each country has its own specificities and, therefore, solutions have to respond to economic realities on the ground.”
He outlined the “series of timely, tailor-made and bold measures which protected the country’s financial system in the last few years. […]
The hallmark in the evolution of the Bank of Mauritius has been its institutional strength, and I can confidently affirm that the measures have reaped the expected results and the banking system has successfully weathered the crisis unscathed.”
A reality that David Hotte focused on during his presentation on “AML/CFT Developments”, stressing the need for “tailor-made and context-adapted regulatory and legislative changes in the banking sector.”
“AML/CFT is an ever evolving matter and countries from all over the world need to be constantly on the lookout for new threats to their frameworks. This is why the EU Global Facility is so strongly committed to promoting a South to South technical assistance where experts trained by the EU GF can subsequently become trainers for their peers and colleagues from other countries of their region (and elsewhere).”
As part of its technical assistance to the partner country of Mauritius, the EU Global Facility provided continuous technical assistance through various training and activities from June 2019 to May 2022.
????Mauritius was officially removed from the list of high-risk third countries with regards to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) by the FATF

Scoping mission to Kyrgyzstan
2022-09-05 - 2022-09-07 | Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan
This scoping mission to Kyrgyzstan aims to assess the country’s request for technical assistance with regards to AML/CFT.
It will be conducted by our experts Mamuka Jgenti and Jens Madsen, who will meet with local stakeholders such as the State Financial Intelligence Service, the General Prosecutor, Ministry of Justice or the National Bank.
A coordination meeting with the EU funded project LEICA is also planned in the premises of the EU Delegation.

ESAAMLG Plenary
2022-08-28 - 2022-09-02 | Zambia, Zambia
The EU Global Facility in at the ESAAMLG Plenary in Livingstone, Zambia ???????? !
Our team, represented by Arnaud STIEN, Key Expert on Regulation/FIU and Mamuka Jgenti, Key Expert on Justice/CSOs, participated in the in 44th Task Force of the Senior Officials Plenary meeting in Livingston spanning from Sunday 28 August to Thursday 1 September 2022. The meeting was followed by the 5th ESSAAMLG AML/CFT Public-Private sector dialogue (PPSD) on virtual assets and the implementation of AML/CFT programmes in the ESSAMLG region.
On the Agenda for the EU Global Facility:

✔︎ Participation in the Technical Assistance Coordination Forum where the bilateral and regional activities conducted by the EU GF in the region will be discussed in addition to forthcoming events.
✔︎Liaison with the delegations from partner countries with which the EU GF is already engaged.
✔︎ The EUGF will also follow up on the work achieved by the ESAAMLG, such as the publication of the regional survey on de-risking/correspondent banking, which was the topic of the regional conference organised by the EUGF in May 2022 in Mauritius.

The EU Global Facility is pleased to note that a number of TA activities implemented in partner states -as well as upcoming ones- have been reflected in the documents adopted by the ESAAMLG. This constitutes a proof of our strong and sustainable #collaboration with the #ESAAMLG and third countries.
#Zambia ????????

Special Note
The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT warmly congratulates Mrs Fikile Zitha for her election as new Executive Secretary of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group. ????????????????????????
Mrs Zitha was officially elected by the Council of Ministers of ESAAMLG at its 22nd meeting.
In the name of the entire Global Facility team, we would like to congratulate our trusted partner Mrs ZITHA for this new function and we wish her all the success in her new endeavours.
The project also thanks Dr. Eliawony Kisanga, outgoing Executive Secretary, for his tireless efforts to strengthen ESAAMLG’s work throughout the years and for the excellent co-operation he helped establish with the EU Global Facility.

Introductory e-training for the Seychelles' NPOs on the FATF Rec 8
2022-08-22 - 2022-08-26 | The Seychelles, Seychelles
This e-training is the second activity implemented in the Seychelles, following an introductory e-training carried out earlier this month. This training will focus on the implementation of the FATF Recommendation 8, the full engagement required by countries and thus the awareness of the issue by local NPOs.
This constitutes the first in a series of capacity building activities for the CSOs in the Seychelles. This series will carry an introductory objective, including to prepare the country’s NPO community for the follow up measures to be taken within the framework of the EU Global Facility’s assistance to the Seychelles under its CSO component.
“I am very happy to see our technical assistance starting only three weeks after our first mission there,” said EU Global Facility Team Leader David Hotte in his welcoming remarks, adding “these are only the first activities and we are sure I will mark the start of a great cooperation, with many more activities to come.”
This session comes following the productive scoping mission our team conducted last month, where a workplan of the EU GF’s engagement with the Seychelles was elaborated in co-ordination with the authorities of Seychelles. The workplan covers various AML/CFT topics on which the GFT shall focus in its engagement with the partners state. The GFT shall also remain in touch with the other TA providers to ensure the synergies in joint efforts.

Scoping mission to the DRC
2022-08-22 - 2022-08-26 | DRC, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
The EU Global Facility’s scoping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo ???????? kicked off this morning in Kinshasa, first of three days of exchanges with local authorities involved in the country’s anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing.
Starting with a meeting with the CENAREF this morning, the discussions covered the objectives and expectations of the partner country, as well as an assessment of the state pf play of AML/CFT reforms ongoing in the DRC.
Opening the session on behalf of the #EU Global Facility, Team Leader David Hotte, highlighted the importance of the close partnership with the African country and of the development of a sound and sustainable roadmap and workplan to support these reforms.
“These next few days will be crucial in understanding the needs of our partner state’s institutions, including ministries, the Central Bank, etc while ensuring the absence of duplication of technical assistance provided by other partner projects,” he stated.
Later during the day, the EU Global Facility team met with the EU Delegation to the DRC, where they discussed the modalities of the upcoming technical assistance.
This scoping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo aims to evaluate the current state of play in the country with regards to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing and the potential areas of technical assistance to be delivered by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT.
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 BO, Recommendation 8 and Justice, among others

Introductory e-training for the Seychelles regulators/authorities on the FATF Rec 8
2022-08-16 - 2022-08-19 | The Seychelles, Seychelles
On 16 August 2022, (only) three weeks after the scoping mission the EU Global Facility team conducted in the Seychelles ????????, we are pleased to announce the launch of our technical assistance engagement with the partner state.
In co-operation with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Seychelles, a four-day capacity building e-training kicked off today, targeted at the authorities and regulators on the implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8.
“I am very happy to see our technical assistance starting only three weeks after our first mission there,” said EU Global Facility Team Leader David Hotte in his welcoming remarks, adding “this is only the first activity and we are sure I will mark the start of a great cooperation, with many more activities to come.”
This training is part of the workplan elaborated by the EU GF in close collaboration with the authorities of the Seychelles; it covers various AML/CFT related topics on which the project shall focus its engagement with the partners state.
The EU Global Facility will also remain in touch with the other technical assistance providers to ensure the synergies in joint efforts.
Next week, an initial e-training on the FATF Recommendation 8 shall be delivered for the selected representatives of the civil society from the partner state.
