France and Morocco: agreement to strengthen counter-terrorism financing efforts
France and Morocco have strengthened their cooperation in combating terrorist financing and money laundering through the signing of a new agreement on the exchange of information and operational expertise.
According to a joint statement, the agreement aims to facilitate the exchange of information related to “suspicious financial transactions” between TRACFIN, the French financial intelligence unit responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and Morocco’s Financial Intelligence Processing Unit.
The statement added that the agreement opens the way for “more regular exchanges of operational expertise,” thereby enhancing both sides’ ability to track suspicious financial flows and identify networks that exploit the international financial system to support illicit activities.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the fifth “No Money for Terror” conference, held in Paris with the participation of representatives from more than 70 countries and organizations. The conference focused on the growing challenges related to terrorist financing, particularly through digital tools and cryptocurrencies.
The event also featured a meeting between French Minister of Economy and Finance Roland Lescure and his Moroccan counterpart Nadia Fettah Alaoui, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in financial and security fields.
In their final declaration, participants warned of the “risks of exploiting financial innovations for the purpose of terrorist financing,” with particular emphasis on crypto-assets, which are increasingly raising concerns among governments and regulatory authorities worldwide.
The statement stressed that these challenges require the development of regulatory frameworks based on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Participants also highlighted the need to prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting disparities between legal and regulatory systems across countries, in order to transfer funds or conceal their sources of financing across borders.
Finally, the closing statement emphasized the importance of enabling investigators and competent authorities to systematically access information related to crypto-assets, as a key tool for tracking illicit financing networks and addressing associated security threats.
