FIUs are officially recognized bodies endowed with the tasks of collecting, processing and exchanging information relating to the subject matters of money laundering, terrorism financing and every other form of financial crimes. They act as the focal point for receiving suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from the financial institutions and other entities.

What are the roles of FIUs?

FIUs have the following important functions in the fight against financial crimes. These roles include activities ranging from the gathering of information to completion of policy formulation on the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

• Data Collection and Analysis: The FIUs gather the STRs and other financial data. With this information, they are able to analyze the activities to establish the fraud and financial crimes in order to develop a database with the illicit financial flow.
• Information Dissemination: FIUs disseminate the analyzed intelligence to the law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, and the overseas counterparts. These pieces of information help in quests for proof in financial crimes and assisting in the cases, arrest and charging of the culprits.
• Regulatory Oversight: One of the roles of the FIUs is to ensure compliance of the financial institutions with measures concerning AML and CTF. They perform assessments and surveys, and provide recommendations concerning conformity of the different aspects of healthcare organizations with these statutes.
• Policy Development: FIUs participate in the formulation of the AML/CTF policies at the national and international level. They suggest legislative and regulatory changes to contribute to the development of proper and updated laws that would help in fighting financial crimes.

What are the FIU Types?

FIUs are the leading authorities in the fight against such financial crimes as money laundering and terrorism financing. As noted, there are various types of FIUs and each of them may have very diverse structure and the working principles depending on the country and task assigned to this agency.

1. Administrative FIUs: Administrative FIU can be said to be operating under a particular ministry of government, which is mostly finance related or central bank. They are involved with the primary management of compliance, making certain that the financial institution follows set financial laws and regulations as well as keeping a lookout for any suspicious activities.
2. Law Enforcement FIUs: Most are situated within or in close cooperation with law enforcement bodies; law enforcement FIUs have this mandate for investigating criminal matters. They engage with other Law enforcing agencies to investigate and arrest all people involved in committing financial crimes, and use their powers to gather evidence that will support the court cases.
3. Judicial or Prosecutorial FIUs: Related to the judicial or prosecution authorities, these FIUs are more concerned with collecting information that can be used in courts. The prime purpose of these agencies is to assist the prosecution and produce complex financial information and strengths which can be taken to prosecution to gain convictions.
4. Hybrid FIUs: As for mixed FIUs, they are integrated administrative, police, and judicial practices. They are composed of separate FIUs, which may work with several government divisions but rely on the specialization of the particular type of FIU to improve the effectiveness in combating the financial crimes.