AS CRIMINAL gangs, the cartels and the oligarchs have more access to money than ever before – industrial quantities of cash and crypto – the reverse is true for law enforcement worldwide.
We are seeing recruitment and retention problems, budget freezes and cost reductions. Plus the whole world of policing isn’t keeping pace with where crime has moved – online.
Clearly there is still a need for boots on the ground but policing isn’t following criminals online at the pace needed to make a real impact. So you are seeing FIUs swamped with information but starved of resources, in some cases frozen under data overload.
That’s why offers of money, resources are to be welcomed to get the technology and people to help but there must be transparency about where the funds emanate.
Reports in The Globe and Mail this week point to the Egmont Group of FIUs looking at moving its training department (Ecofel) from Canada to Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Doha, one of the Middle East’s financial and political centers of influence, has a lot of attractions.
That being said it doesn’t present as the most likely headquarters for a fincrime organization.
Only last year FATF reported: “Qatar needs to make important improvements in certain areas, including in its law enforcement response to money laundering and terrorism financing in particular and its use of financial intelligence.”
Over the summer many of us in the fincrime community have heard those persistent rumors of Ecofel scoping a move of some kind to Qatar. In the face of inquiries, Egmont maintained a strange stony-faced silence.
Now that is semi out in the open, it’s important to understand the rationale behind any such a move:
- where else in MEA has been considered as a location or bi-location?;
- how much money is on offer?; and
- are there are any conditions attached?
Egmont and Ecofel play vital roles in combating financial and economic crime across the globe. They represent what is best about law enforcement. As role models it is important not only that they do the right thing but are seen to do the right thing – and transparency is at the very heart of this. Be upfront, say if there is a deal or not; and if there is a deal in process with Doha, what’s in the fine print?
Going forward Egmont needs a clear funding path and that is the real priority. It cannot continue to operate without the funds and resources to do its job effectively – and that means governments globally acknowledging the issue and providing a sustainable financial pipeline. That would remove the need for the group to have to depend on one-off, apparently random deals.
In Europe the new AML Authority (AMLA) will co-ordinate FIUs – Europol already does that to an extent – but in other regions a body such as Egmont that will build out co-operation between FIUs in every corner of the globe is a requirement.
That body must uphold the highest standards.
You can see the rationale of Ecofel moving to the MEA and raising standards across the region. Just let us know what’s involved.
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