Transformation of cooperation between financial intelligence units of the European Union member states

Abstract

Financial inclusion and the instantaneous nature of transactions increase the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. At the same time, operational cooperation between financial intelligence units is significantly limited by local legislation on the exchange of information with limited access and the technical capabilities of specially authorized bodies. To reduce the risk of untimely response to the threats of economic crime, a new legislative package of the European Union in the field of financial monitoring was approved, an important part of which is the creation of a new system of interaction between specially authorized bodies. The purpose of the article is to identify the elements of the updated model of cooperation between financial intelligence units of the European Union member states and to identify factors that will affect the integration of the specially authorized body of Ukraine into the European financial monitoring system. Methods. Methods of analysis and synthesis were used to identify and further structure the legislative requirements for cooperation between financial intelligence units. The assessment of the mechanisms of interaction of European specially authorized bodies with the communication regime within the Egmont Group was carried out using the comparison method. The generalization method was applied to formulate general conclusions. Results. The main innovations contained in the new legislative package of the European Union in the field of financial monitoring are identified and relate to the mechanism of cooperation between financial intelligence units. A list of differences between the communication regime within the Egmont Group and the requirements of European legislation is formulated. It is revealed that the interaction between the participants of the Egmont Group is carried out on the principles of free exchange of data and reciprocity. At the same time, the new European requirements provide for the mandatory cooperation, unification of the information exchange process and coordination of interaction under the auspices of the newly created supranational body. It is emphasized that there are legislative and technical issues related to the exchange of data for the joint analysis of cross-border suspicious transactions, the solution of which will allow the integration of the specially authorized body of Ukraine into the European financial monitoring system.