Financial Crime World

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Gibraltar’s Financial Intelligence Unit Plays Crucial Role in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

The Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU) has published its Annual Report & Strategic Analysis for 2023, providing valuable insights into its efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and other criminal conduct. The report highlights the GFIU’s key role in tackling the evolving methods and techniques used by criminals and terrorists.

Key Findings

  • The strategic analysis section of the report compares data from 2022 and 2023, analyzing suspicious activity reports (SARs) submitted by reporting entities and other intelligence sources available to the GFIU.
  • The findings will play an important role in shaping future policies, initiatives, and Gibraltar’s next National Risk Assessment as it continues to strengthen its position as a leading finance centre after being removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.
  • A notable trend highlighted in the report is the significant decrease in defensive reporting, from 25% in 2019 to just 0.7% in 2023.
    • Defensive reporting can strain an FIU’s resources and dilute the effectiveness of SARs.
    • The reduction over the last four years can be attributed to the GFIU’s persistent efforts to conduct an effective and sustainable outreach program through Project Nexus.

Focus on High-Priority Cases

  • With the decrease in defensive reporting, the unit is better equipped to focus on high-priority cases and enhance its effectiveness in detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • The report showcases the GFIU’s achievements and highlights its commitment to combating financial crime in Gibraltar.