Last week, the Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) from Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey under the Quad Island Forum met in Gibraltar House, London, as part of their ongoing commitment to further develop the Quad Island Forum and extend to other authorities with responsibilities for financial crime.

The three day meetings included the participation of the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit from Jersey and the Isle of Man Proactive International Money Laundering Investigation Team to focus on exchanging best practices in preparation for upcoming Moneyval assessments. 

An additional initiative has been undertaken, encompassing a distinct subgroup that integrates the Tax authorities from the four jurisdictions. The aim is to enhance collaboration between Tax authorities and FIUs in order to combat serious tax-related crimes and sophisticated tax fraud schemes that yield substantial illicit gains. During the meeting, participants deliberated on strategic objectives, fostering effective cooperation, exploring training opportunities, sharing best practices for accessing tax data, addressing legal challenges, resources and information technology.

The development of this sub-group is a very encouraging and demonstrates each jurisdiction’s commitment to ensure that they have the broadest range of financial intelligence and mechanisms to target criminals and the proceeds of crime.

The Quad Island Forum facilitates the sharing of knowledge and experience and works collaboratively to achieve the four jurisdictions’ aims and objectives. The Forum recognises the importance of international cooperation in the fight against Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation, and the necessity for collaboration. This partnership is a key vehicle through which criminal activity can be identified and tackled effectively. Forum members share the same values, similar challenges and work closely on issues of common importance. The Forum has also established other subgroups to provide shared focus that includes Strategic Analysis, Public Private Partnerships and Terrorist Financing.

The Director of the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit, Edgar Lopez, said: “The Quad Island Forum provides the ideal platform for multilateral engagement, but more importantly it links up technical experts in specialised fields to learn from each other and enhance existing measures and frameworks.”

The Income Tax Commissioner, John Lester, also added that: “We are very pleased to have been offered the opportunity to form part of this initiative. Given that  money laundering and tax evasion are typically interconnected activities, this collaborative approach is of vital importance in making it harder to benefit from the exploitation of a lack of cooperation. We therefore look forward to developing and building solid relationships within this forum.”

ENDS