Information exchange between investigating authorities is vital to successfully preventing and fighting crimes such as money laundering, drug trafficking, corruption, human trafficking, and terrorist financing.
In the European Union (EU) alone, the value of suspicious transactions is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of euros – equivalent to 1.3 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP). Global estimates are close to 3 percent of world GDP.
To combat these crimes, the EU launched the ‘Next‑Generation’ FIU.net in early February. The upgraded FIU.net gives financial intelligence units (FIUs) and Europol an enhanced IT solution to speed information exchange and cross-matching of information. The system is used by the FIUs of all EU Member States, the FIU of Norway, and Europol, the EU law enforcement cooperation agency. New FIUs of Liechtenstein and Iceland will also be connected to the ‘Next‑Generation’ FIU.net system. As a result, the network will include 30 FIUs and Europol.
Capabilities of the EU’s financial intelligence platform
In Europe, authorities such as the national FIUs are at the frontline in the fight against financial crime. The ‘Next-Generation’ FIU.net helps investigators swiftly and securely exchange crucial information, analyze suspicious financial flows and, ultimately, provide the investigators and prosecutors with useful financial intelligence.
A key function of FIU.net is cross‑border reporting (XBR), which helps FIUs distribute to counterpart FIUs suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed by “obliged entities” registered in their country and providing services in other Member States. Obligated entities such as credit or financial institutions play a central role as “gatekeepers” in the anti‑money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework due to their unique position that allows them to detect suspicious activities.
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Integration with the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority
The release of the enhanced FIU.net follows the 2024 creation of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA), a decentralised EU agency that will coordinate national authorities to ensure correct and consistent application of EU rules. The Authority is one element of EU AML/CFT reform intended to tackle cross-border financial crime.
The Authority will be responsible for directly supervising selected financial sector entities that operate across borders and present a high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as indirectly supervising other entities in the financial and non-financial sectors. The Authority will also support and coordinate FIUs by facilitating joint cross-border cases analyses.
The AMLA will assume ownership of FIU.net by July 2027.
How Sayari supports the fight against financial crime
New AML regulatory standards and increased supervision of financial sector entities in the EU create new challenges for the regulated — and new investigative opportunities for the regulators.
Sayari minimizes risk exposure and accelerates complex investigations by automatically gathering intelligence and generating commercial networks. Sayari Graph delivers ”single-click” beneficial ownership mapping and distance calculations between an organization’s customers and watchlisted entities. Pre-computed counterparty networks within Graph — complete with entity identifying information such as unique identifiers, names, contact information, and registration dates — speed investigations. Graph also helps organizations and investigators trace nested ownership and control across borders and into offshore jurisdictions.
Discover how Sayari Graph can help uncover transnational money laundering schemes and provide a more comprehensive view of these complex networks.
