A nine-member delegation of Financial Intelligence Unit-Qatar visited the Financial Intelligence Unit-India on 4th and 5th November in New Delhi, Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

The Qatar delegation, headed by Sheikh Ahmed Al Thani, Head of FIU–Qatar, was received by Vivek Aggarwal, Head, FIU-IND.

During the visit, both the heads discussed about current practices in the Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime as well as possible areas of future collaboration between the two organisations.

The meeting was enriching for both the sides as they discussed and touched upon various areas such as the IT systems used by respective jurisdiction, Public-Private Partnership initiative of FIU-IND (FPAC), Private-Private Partnership for Alliance of Reporting Entities in India For AML/CFT (ARIFAC), strategic analysis and various tools used by the two FIUs as well as FIU-IND’s experience in area of virtual digital assets service providers (VDA-SPs). Further, methods of effective information exchange were also discussed and deliberated upon.

The visit marked a significant step in strengthening the ties between the two FIUs and their commitment to assist each other in fighting the menace of money laundering and financing of terrorism. FIU–Qatar highly appreciated the IT system (FINNET 2.0) used by FIU-IND and mentioned that it is one of the most sophisticated system used by any FIU. They expressed keenness to further understand the Private-Private Partnership Initiative from FIU-IND which facilitates the collaboration amongst private sector players in AML/CFT regime.

In order to provide insights into functioning of AML/CFT stakeholders, two on-site visits were also scheduled for the Qatari delegation by FIU-IND which were extremely fruitful for them. It is to be noted that FIU–Qatar and FIU-IND have cooperated with each other over the years, through the informal information exchange on offences related to money laundering, financing of terrorism.

Both the FIUs are members of Egmont Group and FATF and have been actively associated with various initiatives taken by these international organizations. They have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding on information exchange in relation to money laundering, financing of terrorism and associated predicate offence in 2016 in order to bolster cooperation.