On Friday December 8, 2023, Tracfin organized its 1st forum on the state of the BC-FT threat at the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance.
This has enabled the various players involved in AML-CFT to get together and strengthen the links between the authorities and those subject to the law.
Contents of the morning
Introduction by Guillaume Valette Valla (Tracfin Director)
- ERMES, the electronic declarations service, is evolving with a better structuring of data for improved analysis, thanks in particular to AI!
- Tracfin modernizes with an active LinkedIn account, webinars and/or discussion forums...
- France is keen to host the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority. Moreover, in terms of European regulations, the new legislative package will be adopted (very) soon, radically changing certain operating methods (to be continued!).
Feedback from François Molins
Secondly, we were fortunate to have the benefit of feedback from former public prosecutor François Molins.
He traced Tracfin's development since the 90s, and how it has evolved to reach the level of quality recently praised by the FATF.
For him: Rather than having data in silos, data should create a virtuous circle, by crossing flow logics and target logics.
This virtuous circle, coupled with good inter-agency information transmission, not only helps to counter the financing of terrorism, but also to thwart attacks!
On this point, the Attorney General deconstructs a common misconception that only high value financial transactions can be considered sensitive... FALSE, terrorism is also financed on the basis of micro-financing!
Round tables
We then attended two round tables, moderated byNicolas Toulemonde, on practical cases of AML-CFT by:
*Martine Boutinet(Compliance Director – Crédit Agricole),
*Catherine Fournier(Compliance Director – Groupe BPCE),
*Florence PEYBERNES(Chair – High Council of the Commissariat aux Comptes),
* Laurence Chevillon (Managing Director – French Union of Jewelry, Goldsmiths, Silversmiths, Stones & Pearls),
*Laetitia Jacquet Van Coppenolle(Compliance & AML-CFT Director – AML-CFT, AXA France)
* Bertrand Salewyn (Director of Financial Security – Société Générale)
These discussions were very interesting and highlight the comprehensive nature of the various controls carried out by regulated entities, each of which has different data, expertise, and perspectives.
This prompts me to remind you that ALL regulated entities must implement a compliance policy, and that you cannot simply avoid doing so by assuming that another regulated entity will handle it for you… But you already knew that!
And as a bonus, a video address byThomas Cazenave, Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, who reiterated that the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud is a priority for France.
