Brussels, 26 August 2020 – The Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (“the Coalition”) strongly welcomes the European Commission’s Action Plan to fight money laundering and terrorist financing in light of the consultation with stakeholders which ends today.
The ambition of the Action Plan is in line with the overarching objective of the Coalition which is to mitigate financial crime by being better able to identify key weaknesses in the system and make the anti-financial crime framework more effective.
In particular, we welcome the Action Plan’s recognition of the role of public private partnerships and the value of information sharing which the Coalition has been promoting in recent years. Only by becoming a network will we be able to fight a network.
The Coalition also believes that making more of the current requirements part of a Regulation will help fight money laundering and terrorist financing in a more consistent, coordinated manner. Within this, we support the Commission’s commitment to harmonising rules on beneficial ownership registers to make them more transparent and more effective.
Furthermore, we support the Action Plan’s ambition to look beyond the financial sector, as money laundering and terrorist financing links to many other types of criminality, including modern slavery, drug trafficking and environmental crime, not to mention new forms of criminality that have arisen out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial crime poses a threat not just to the financial stability of the Eurozone but to the Single Market as a whole.
Finally, financial crime knows no borders, therefore, we support the EU’s ambition to play a stronger role in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing globally and strongly encourage the Commission to work with its international partners as it now moves into developing forthcoming legislation.
Press contacts:
Thibault Jacobs, Bertrand Huet and Niamh Griffin
Contact: press@gcffc.org
About the global coalition to fight financial crime:
Founded by Refintiv, Europol, and the World Economic Forum in 2018, the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime brings together different parts of the anti-financial crime ecosystem to work towards the establishment of global standards, built on public-private cooperation, to complement and make more effective current regional safeguards. For more information, visit www.gcffc.org.
Members:
The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the Atlantic Community’s central role in meeting global challenges. The Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century by informing and galvanizing its uniquely influential network of global leaders. Through the papers it publishes, the ideas it generates, the future leaders it develops, and the communities it builds, the Atlantic Council shapes policy choices and strategies to create a more free, secure, and prosperous world.
Crime Stoppers International is an independent non-profit umbrella organization, officially registered in the Netherlands as a foundation. The mission of CSI is: ‘to mobilize the world to provide information on crime anonymously’. With affiliated and accredited national and local Crime Stoppers programs in 26 countries, CSI forms a global network and provide platforms for communities around the world to report on crime anonymously.
The European Banking Federation
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, uniting 32 national banking associations in Europe that together represent some 3,500 banks – large and small, wholesale and retail, local and international – employing about two million people.
Europol is the European Union’s law enforcement agency with the main goal of achieving a safer Europe for the benefit of all the EU citizens. Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Europol supports the 27 EU Member States in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime and other serious and organised forms of crime, working also with many non-EU partner states and international organisations.
The Freedom Seal is the First Global Mark of Trust awarded to companies who are effectively taking action to eradicate modern slavery. The aim of the Freedom Seal is to help companies and industries with significant risks in human rights so they can demonstrate their respect for human rights and provide evidence to authorities and the world of the actions they are taking to enforce their commitments.
Global Financial Integrity (GFI) is a Washington DC-based think tank, producing high-calibre analyses of illicit financial flows, advising developing country governments on effective policy solutions and promoting pragmatic transparency measures in the international financial system as a means to global development and security.
The Institute of International Finance
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) is the global association of the financial industry, with more than 450 members from more than 70 countries. Its mission is to support the financial industry in the prudent management of risks; to develop sound industry practices; and to advocate for regulatory, financial and economic policies that are in the broad interests of its members and foster global financial stability and sustainable economic growth. IIF members include commercial and investment banks, asset managers, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, central banks and development banks.
MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group
The MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group (MENA FCCG) is a voluntary body that seeks to bring collective action in the fight against money laundering and terrorist finance in the region. The group comprises 13 banks from nine MENA countries, including; Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Rani’s Voice is a global social enterprise focused on human trafficking prevention. Its objective is to mobilise and influence decision-makers at the highest levels to increase awareness of financial crime and modern slavery, promote more effective information sharing, and establish enhanced processes to share best practices. The inclusion of Rani’s Voice in the coalition gives a voice to the millions enslaved throughout the world, drawing attention to their suffering, and highlighting the importance of finding new ways to secure their freedom.
Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions in over 190 countries. It provides leading data and insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect a thriving global financial markets community – driving performance in trading, investment, wealth management, regulatory compliance, market data management, enterprise risk and fighting financial crime.
Royal United Services Institute
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is an independent think tank engaged in cutting edge defence and security research. A unique institution, founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington, RUSI embodies nearly two centuries of forward thinking, free discussion and careful reflection on defence and security matters.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does. The institution carefully blends and balances the best of many kinds of organisations, from both the public and private sectors, international organisations and academic institutions.
