Bermuda's Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) has been admitted as a member of the Egmont Group — the world body of financial intelligence units.

Attorney General Kim Wilson announced in the Senate yesterday that the FIA officially joined the Egmont Group at a plenary held in Qatar last month.

Having been set up in November 2008 under the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007, the FIA became the first such agency to move from a law enforcement unit to an administrative agency.

The Egmont Group, which became a formal international group at the 15th Annual Egmont Group Plenary held in Bermuda in 2007, promotes international co-operation between Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) and provides them with a forum to support to their respective national anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist financing programmes.

The Island, which previously qualified as a member of the Egmont Group in 1999 in the form of a law enforcement FIU, had to conform to a strict set of criteria to gain membership to the exclusive body, including a sound legislative framework and undergoing an on-site assessment by a review team to meet the standards required.

"The Bermuda FIA has already demonstrated that it is able to effectively carry out its responsibilities to ensure that Bermuda can address these serious crimes," said Ms Wilson.

""It is a credit to all those who have been involved in the transition, that the goal has been achieved in such an effective, efficient and timely manner.

""In fact, at the plenary, the Egmont Group heads of FIUs acknowledges the manner in which the newly-created administrative FIA had completed their transition and recognised that the new agency met the criteria for Egmont membership.

"It was highlighted that FIA Bermuda had completed a seamless transition to meet all requirements in following the guidelines as set out in the Egmont principles, procedures and standards."

Ms Wilson revealed that the Bermuda FIA signed memorandums of understanding with eight Egmont member FIUs at the plenary, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Department of the Treasury, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Anti-Money Laundering Council of the Philippines, the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit, the National Office for the Prevention and Control of Money Laundering — Romania, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, UK, and the United Arab Emirates Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit.

Bermuda has been awarded a regular follow-up status and will be required to provide such a report to the plenary by May 2011, the Caribbean Action Task Force decided following a recommendation at a meeting held in the Port of Spain, Trinidad last month.

The recommendation was made after a review of relevant legislation and other documentation to confirm the actions taken by the Island to address the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund review team in its 2007 AML/CFT (combating the financing of terrorism) assessment.