Liberia has become the 177th state to join the international Egmont Group.
Liberia has joined the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, marking a decisive step towards fighting money laundering and terrorist financing across the West African country. The international network has accepted Liberia’s Financial Intelligence Agency as one of its Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), which will coordinate with its global web of FIUs to share intelligence and resources in an effort to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks across its members’ jurisdictions.
The African state has joined the ranks of 177 member nations in the Egmont Group. The organisation was founded in 1995 and operates as a connected web of FIUs across member countries, which act as investigative bodies on financial crime issues, analysing and disseminating suspicious transactions and other related intelligence.
The Liberian administration listed joining the Egmont Group as one of the objectives under its ‘National Anti-Money Laundering & Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Strategy and Action Plan (2022-2025)’. The strategy noted Liberia’s intention for its FIU to join the Group under its goal to strengthen the legal and institutional framework related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, following the passage of the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2021. Joining Egmont was one of the government’s key undertakings as part of its policy to strengthen domestic and international cooperation.
A 2023 report by the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force identified the establishment of Liberia’s Financial Intelligence Agency as a positive step towards tackling financial crime, however it was also noted that the state’s lack of resources were impeding its wider success. Joining the Egmont Group should add some necessary resources and assistance to the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts.
In another country’s move to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, Kenya has taken steps to remove itself from the FATF greylist this year, after it was added to the unenviable group for its failures to adequately tackle financial crime.
