New Delhi: In a significant move to bolster global efforts against financial crime, the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and the Financial Intelligence Unit-Qatar (FIU-Qatar) have announced enhanced cooperation to combat money laundering and terror financing activities.
The decision comes as a nine-member delegation from FIU-Qatar visited FIU-IND in New Delhi on November 4-5, marking a key step in strengthening ties between the two agencies.
The visit, led by Sheikh Ahmed Al Thani, head of FIU-Qatar, and hosted by Vivek Aggarwal, head of FIU-IND, underscored the commitment of both nations to work together to counter financial crimes, including those perpetrated by virtual digital asset service providers (VDA-SPs).
Discussions between the two delegations focused on current practices, potential areas for future collaboration, and the sharing of best practices. The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including the IT systems used by both jurisdictions, the public-private partnership initiative of FIU-IND, and the strategic analysis tools used by both agencies.
FIU-Qatar, impressed by FIU-IND’s sophisticated FINNET 2.0 IT system, recognised its importance in combating financial crime. “The visit marked a significant step in strengthening the relations between the two FIUs and their commitment to assist each other in fighting the menace of money laundering and financing of terrorism,” the statement said.
This enhanced cooperation builds upon a long-standing history of information exchange between the two agencies. Both are active members of the Egmont Group and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), actively engaging in international initiatives against financial crime. “Further, methods of effective information exchange were also discussed and deliberated upon,” it said.
“FIU-Qatar highly appreciated the IT system (FINNET 2.0) used by FIU-IND and mentioned that it is one of the most sophisticated systems used by any FIU,” the statement reads further.
In June 2016, FIU-Qatar and FIU-IND signed a Memorandum of Understanding on information exchange concerning money laundering, financing of terrorism, and associated predicate offenses. This agreement further strengthens their commitment to collaborating in the fight against financial crime.
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