E-workshop on Jordan's ML/TF risk assessment for legal persons and arrangements
2021-11-08 08:00 - 11:30 (Europe/Paris) | Jordan
The purpose of this workshop was to present the EU Global Facility’s Methodology for the ML/TF risk assessment of legal persons and arrangements that is to be drafted by Jordan.
Sessions covered topics such as legal entities and arrangements in scope, threat scenarios and vulnerabilities analysis, stakeholder engagement as well as outreach strategy.

E-workshop on BO Register Regulation for Jordan
2021-11-03 - 2021-11-04 | Jordan
This two-day workshop focused on Beneficial Ownership Register Regulation.
Delivered to the authorities of Jordan, it witnessed the attendance of representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Unit, the Central Bank of Jordan and the Companies Control Department.
Participants discussed the topics and key features to be included in BO disclosure frameworks, such as

-The type of thresholds to use
-The tools available to ensure consistent implementation and supervision of the requirements
-The issue of complex ownership structures
-The verification and sanction mechanisms to be implemented

Assistance on beneficial ownership has been part and parcel of the GF’s technical assistance to Jordan which began in November 2020.

Newsletter #2
2021-11-01
Our second newsletter is out !

Learn about what the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT has been doing from August to October 2021 and what is coming.

Capacity Building Support to the Judiciary of Jordan
2021-10-28 - 2021-10-30 | Dead Sea, Jordan
This workshop, which was conducted at the Dead Sea, aimed to assist the Jordanian authorities and the judicial council to prepare financial investigation guidelines as a step to increase the efficiency of ML and TF investigations and prosecutions.
Targeted at judges member of the Committee and representatives of the Anti Money Laundering Unit of Jordan, the activity covered the following topics (among others):

– Determining the thresholds for proceeds of the predict crime to initiate a financial investigation
– Practical issues to initiate money laundering investigations
– Ties with the FIU for financial analytical support
– Practical procedures and standards

Our Speakers:

Oxana Gisca, head of supervision and compliance at the FIU of Moldova
Jean-Francois Thony, President of the Siracusa Institute and Honorary Prosecutor General
Nicole Voorhuis, former senior prosecutor and supervisor

FATF REC 8 compliance - Training of Jordan's regulators and NPOs (on-site)
2021-10-24 - 2021-10-26 | Dead Sea, Jordan
This training on FATF Recommendation 8 compliance will be conducted at the Dead Sea, Jordan, for members of the Working Group namely representatives of competent authorities and selected NPOs.
Held in close collaboration with local authorities, the interactive training is organised with the support of local partner Edmaaj for Development and Social Responsibility Consulting and in coordination with the leading partners of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF.
Over the course of three days, the interactive event will tackle the following topics:

Sharing and reviewing the preliminary results of the residual risk assessment. Amendment and verification by attending stakeholders
Development of evidence-based strategic recommendations for improved mitigation of terrorist financing risks
Definition of an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations and securing the commitment of stakeholders

This training comes after an initial activity held in September 2021 with local NPOs, which sought to assess the effectiveness of mitigating measures in reducing terrorist financing risks amongst most at-risk NPOs; evaluate the overall residual risk of TF in the NPO sector; develop, prioritise and benchmark recommendations for a joint, evidence-based strategic action plan; and commit to a mechanism for re-assessment.
Both events are part of a series of activities aimed at supporting Jordan’s improved compliance with the FATF Rec 8 requirements.

E-workshop on UBO for Morocco
2021-10-21 - 2021-10-22
This online workshop is the continuation of the initial work conducted with the authorities of Morocco on the implementation of a national framework relating to the transparency of the beneficial owners of legal persons and legal arrangements.
Paving the way for future actions, the activity is titled ‘Implementation of a UBO register, regulatory and operational considerations’ and covers:

– The international and national framework relating to the transparency of legal persons and legal arrangements
– Project and stakeholder management
– Development, testing and production phase
– Supervision phase

Regional workshop on BO and FIU: trusts, LA and investment vehicles
2021-10-19 12:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Paris)
The second “Regional Workshop on Beneficial Ownership and Financial Intelligence Unit” was organised on 19 October 2021 by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT jointly with the Office for Prevention and Fight Against Money Laundering (SPCSB) from the Republic of Moldova.
The half-day workshop focused on the issue of beneficial ownership in relation to trusts, legal arrangements and investment vehicles. It was aimed at representatives from Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Ukraine, as a follow up from the first workshop held on 14-15 July 2021.
???? For the latest Mutual Evaluation Report of the Republic of Moldova click here

Prosecutors and AML CFT (3/3)
2021-10-18 09:00 - 11:00 (Asia/Amman)
This e-training was the third and final in a series of three weekly training designed for the prosecution service of the United Arab Emirates.
This training focused on money laundering and its link to predicate offence, investigation of money laundering cases and the kind of specific litigation skills required from prosecution.
It also touched upon:

The importance of having prosecutors with specialised expertise on money laundering crimes (i.e. investigation, prosecution and knowledge of adjudication)
Evidence admissibility and how to assess the value of evidence
Data secrecy, confidentiality and privacy regarding ML criminal proceedings

Started in August 2021, the series of judiciary training targeted representatives of the prosecution services and covered the general AML/CFT requirements and standards in this regard. Most specifically, it focused on the operation of mutual evaluations by the FSRB and the IOs relevant to the target group, as well as the challenges and best practices regarding the prosecution and adjudication of AML/CFT cases by the national jurisdictions.

Scoping Mission in Panama
2021-10-11 - 2021-10-14 | Panama, Panama
On 8-13 October 2021, key Experts from the EU Global Facility met with a number of representatives from entities of Panama’s financial penal and investigation chain to agree on the future course of action. This scoping mission came as a result of the fruitful start of technical assistance activities delivered to Panama since May 2021.
In March 2021, the EU Global Facility received a request for technical assistance on Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) from Panama.
A month later, a work programme was shared with the country, followed by the kick-off of activities in May.
A set of e-training sessions and mentoring activities was delivered over the next six months, focusing on:

-UBO: Work focused on building a national BO disclosure framework, scoping review, and IT Procurement methodology.
-LEA: three e-training courses on parallel investigations, proactive investigations and cash smuggling.
-Mentorship “ICRG” to reinforce the capacity of the national authorities to cooperate and coordinate their tasks with foreign technical assistance providers, and according to the FATF action plan.

The partnership culminated with the one-week scoping mission conducted by the GF’s team on 8-13 October.This provided the opportunity to discuss with the national competent authorities and other partners, including the EU Delegation, French, German, US and UK embassies, as well as Transparency International.

What are the perspectives?

– To consolidate the partnership with the national competent authorities and foreign technical assistance providers
– Following the discussions held to consolidate the technical assistance programme on IO5, IO7 and IO1 through training/mentoring sessions, workshops, conferences

The EU GF is already planning its next visit to Panama on 8 – 9 November 2021.
©Luis Gonzalez

Webinar: Best Practices in Correspondent Banking Relationships
2021-09-29 09:00 - 11:30 (Europe/Paris)
Best practices in correspondent banking relationships – From operational to supervisory and enforcement approach was a two-folded pilot workshop event aimed at facilitating best practices and use of available tools between the Central Bank of the UAE and different stakeholders involved in the financial investigation and penal chain ).
Participants in the event included a broad range of actors from the banking industry, supervisory authorities, enforcement authorities and international organisations. Speakers included representatives from the Deutsche Bundesbank, the European Banking Authority, the European Commission, the UAE Central Bank and Egypt’s FIU (EMLCU), among others.
The e-workshop was composed of two chapters of a half-day each:

Chapter 1 on Operational aspects of correspondent banking where speakers described the payment process commonly used in correspondent banking. They presented some of the features and characteristics of the different messaging methods.
Chapter 2 on Compliance and enforcement of correspondent banking risks. This part focused on the elements to set out to provide clear guidance for supervisors to proceed with the work of designing or improving national supervisory practice on correspondent banking, and on enforcement investigation by the FIU.

Following the event, a consolidated Key Needs Assessment document was produced, gathering relevant input from all participants. It provided key suggestions and specific areas for improvement with regards to the work of the Central Bank of the UAE on CoBa. The document, available below, seeks to serve as a useful resource for the CB’s future action on CoBa and potential framework improvement. It shall also serve as an informative roadmap for future activities of the Global Facility on CoBa. Our Speakers:

Abigail MARSHMAN, Acting Head AML/CFT Supervision Department at Central Bank UAE
Robert SCHNEIDER, Head of FCC experts for EMEA at SWIFT
& Alaa Al Rousan, Senior Account Director at SWIFT
Patrick KAUK, Deputy Head of Group – Management of Foreign Accounts at Deutsche Bundesbank
Carolin Gardner, (Acting) Head of Unit (AML/CFT) at European Banking Authority
Dr Amr Rashed – Head of International Cooperation at Egyptian Money Laundering Combating Unit and Chair of the Training and Technical Assistance Working Group at Egmont Group

Prosecutors and AML CFT: Asset Recovery (2/3)
2021-09-27 09:00 - 11:00 (Asia/Dubai)
The Prosecutors e-training is the second in a series of e-training designed for the prosecution service of the United Arab Emirates.
The five-day training targets representatives of the prosecution services and covers the general AML/CFT requirements and standards in this regard. Most specifically, it focuses on the operation of mutual evaluations by the FSRB and the IOs relevant to the target group.
This weekly training also explores the challenges and best practices regarding the prosecution and adjudication of AML/CFT cases by the national jurisdictions.

Webinar : Judicial Cooperation in the MENA region
2021-09-22 13:00 - 16:00 (Asia/Amman)
The Webinar on ‘’Strengthening Judicial Cooperation in the MENA Region: Judges and Prosecutors at the forefront of the Fight against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing’’ is co-organised with the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights.
◦ What works and does not work for judicial co-operation on AML/CFT matters: A high-level situation analysis for the MENA region?
◦ Countering the financing of terrorism: a specific challenge for the MENA region
◦ National strategies to ensure effective investigations and prosecutions relating to anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and counter-proliferation
◦ Constitutional arguments as obstacles to judicial cooperation: contrasting myth and reality
◦ Improving the capacity of investigators and judicial systems to turn intelligence into evidence
The event is open ONLY to judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers from the MENA region. Registration will close on 21 September 2021.

Cash Smuggling (e-training)
2021-09-19 - 2021-09-23
The Cash Smuggling on AML/CFT training will focus on the smuggling of cash through the porous borders of Jordan, with an emphasis on cash control regulation at border posts and airports.
This module will emphasise the need for such activities to be intelligence-led and operated in a multi-agency fashion between various law enforcement agencies.
The training has been modified as a result of feedback from the ongoing e-training events to meet their specific needs, particularly re-addressing FATF Recommendations.
