The Egmont Group published an update on Vice-Chair Mohammed Shahid Ahmed’s participation in the International Conference on Strengthening Cross-Border Cooperation in Transnational Crime in Taipei, where he reiterated that Financial Intelligence Units are central to cross-border asset recovery. The main message was that speed, coordination and trusted financial intelligence exchange are critical to tracing, restraining and recovering illicit proceeds, particularly in large-scale fraud cases where funds can move quickly across jurisdictions. The remarks pointed to three strands of existing Egmont work. An Information Exchange Working Group report on the role of FIUs in asset recovery identified key challenges and highlighted the importance of financial intelligence in tracing and securing assets. The ongoing Increasing FIUs’ Effectiveness in the Asset Recovery Process initiative, including Phase II launched in 2025, focuses on asset identification, freezing mechanisms, cooperation frameworks and practical recommendations to improve FIU effectiveness. Ahmed also cited the joint Egmont Group, Financial Action Task Force, INTERPOL and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime handbook on international cooperation for money laundering detection, investigation and prosecution as a practical tool to support faster cross-border financial investigations.
Egmont Group2026-05-26
Egmont Group highlights FIU asset recovery role and ongoing Phase II effectiveness initiative at Taipei conference
The Egmont Group reported on Vice-Chair Mohammed Shahid Ahmed’s intervention at an international conference in Taipei, where he stressed that Financial Intelligence Units are central to cross-border asset recovery and that speed, coordination and trusted intelligence exchange are critical. He highlighted an Information Exchange Working Group report on FIUs’ role in asset recovery, the ongoing Increasing FIUs’ Effectiveness in the Asset Recovery Process initiative, and a joint Egmont Group, Financial Action Task Force, INTERPOL and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime handbook on international cooperation for money laundering cases.