Germany

The German Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is formally referred to as the Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigations (Zentralstelle für Finanztransaktionsuntersuchungen), is the autonomous national central body entrusted with the task of combating money laundering and terrorist financing in Germany [Egmont Group]. Formed in 2001 and radically reshaped in 2017 in accordance with the Money Laundering Act (GwG), the FIU works as an administratively oriented body housed within Directorate X of the General Directorate of Customs. Located in Cologne, the FIU works entirely outside of the conventional police network and acts as the important central focal point for financial crime information alerts, being an active member of the international Egmont Group.

The FIU acts as the main body for receiving, evaluating, and analyzing suspicious financial transactions within Germany. This entails systematically receiving the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) provided electronically by the obligated entities, including banks, insurance firms, real estate agents, and dealers in high-value commodities, through the goAML reporting portal of the FIU. The FIU employs a risk-based approach whereby it examines the reported flags, requests additional information from the economic operators, and checks whether there are links to money laundering, tax fraud, or terrorist financing. When the FIU’s analysts conclude that there is a reasonable basis to suspect, the report is directly sent to the state prosecution bodies, law enforcement, or tax authorities for criminal investigations.