FIU Germany


Dear Colleagues,

As you may know from the past, the transformation of the FIU Germany into a fully independent and autonomous service for the targeted analysis of financial intelligence is occasionally still subject of discussion, especially with some LEAs. The cooperation improved significantly over time, with continuous engagement and a constant feedback loop as well as FIU liaison officers at LEAs as success factors.

For this reason, we were much surprised that a public prosecutor executed yesterday a search warrant at the FIU Germany. The allegations against unknown analysts of the FIU relate to eight STRs, which supposedly were not (timely) forwarded to the prosecution authorities.

Let me assure you that it was today our first priority to closely cooperate with the public prosecution authorities in order to clarify these accusations immediately. No documents or data were seized at the FIU. We handed over selected information after joint evaluation of relevance for the investigation. Having said this, I would like to emphasize that all foreign information received, processed, held and/or disseminated by the FIU Germany are and will remain securely protected in accordance with agreed procedures, policies and applicable laws and regulations mentioned by the Principles of the Egmont Group. In other words, information that FIU Germany has received and exchanged with other FIUs remains confidential and protected.

Finally, I would like to assure you that we will keep you updated about any new developments in this case.

Best regards,
Christof Schulte