The Cyprus Compliance Association (CCA) the Financial Intelligence Unit of Cyprus (MOKAS), and Cyprus Police organized a Countering Terrorist Financing Forum on Regulatory Expectations, Operational Effectiveness and Emerging Risks, in Nicosia, on September 30.
According to a press release, issued by the CCA, the Forum brought together senior representatives and experts from competent authorities, financial intelligence, law enforcement, supervisory and prosecution bodies, the banking and financial sectors, international organisations, professional bodies and the private sector in a shared discussion on strengthening the collective response to terrorist financing.
It brought Cyprus’s national discussion into direct dialogue with international expertise and standards. Contributions included perspectives from the Chairperson of MONEYVAL, international financial intelligence and financial crime experts, and specialist UK law-enforcement practitioners working on terrorist financing, cryptocurrency investigations and border intelligence.
CCA noted that the Forum reflected the increasingly international and interconnected nature of financial crime, combining Cypriot institutional and professional expertise with international perspectives from leading practitioners and organisations.
Throughout the day, discussions addressed regulatory expectations, operational effectiveness, international evaluations, sanctions, terrorist financing typologies, crypto-related threats, crossborder investigations, information sharing and public-private partnerships.
“A central objective of the Forum was to move beyond policy-level discussion and create a practical dialogue between the public and private sectors on how regulatory expectations and international standards translate into effective action in practice,” the press release read and added that particular emphasis was placed on the importance of connecting financial intelligence with law-enforcement and prosecutorial action, strengthening information flows across institutional boundaries, and developing effective public-private cooperation.
Theodoros Stavrou, Chair of the Cyprus Compliance Association, stated that the Forum demonstrated the value of bringing together local and international expertise around a shared objective: strengthening our collective understanding and practical response to terrorist financing risks. “We are particularly grateful to our co-organisers, Supporting Organisations, Knowledge Partners, speakers and contributors for the expertise and commitment they brought to the programme, and to our members and the wider professional community for their strong participation,” he said, adding that effective counter-terrorist financing depends on this kind of cooperation and shared understanding.
‘Initiatives such as this also support Cyprus’s continuing commitment to international AML/CFT standards by creating opportunities to move beyond technical requirements and focus on effectiveness in practice, how information is shared, how risks are understood and how the public and private sectors can work together to achieve better outcomes,’ he noted.