Ireland

The Financial Intelligence Unit Ireland (FIU Ireland) is the national sovereign law enforcement intelligence agency mandated with the task of dealing with financial crimes in the Republic of Ireland. Established officially in 1995, the FIU operates as a critical component of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), which is a very specialized unit of An Garda Síochána (the national police force). Serving as a vital part of the international Egmont Group, FIU Ireland serves as the national, independent agency for receiving and assessing financial information from private financial institutions to detect any illegal financial activities.

FIU Ireland acts as the central clearinghouse of reports received, analyzed and processed regarding the Suspicious Transactions Reports (STRs) from banks, law firms and other designated non-financial businesses [fiu-ireland.ie]. The United Nations supported goAML system is used to analyze these filings, compare the transactions with the information in national databases and map complex financial links [fiu-ireland.ie, www.lawsociety.ie]. The information extracted from financial documents is turned into intelligence, which is provided to specialized criminal investigation teams within An Garda Síochána and international law enforcement bodies via the Egmont Group network. Further, the unit is involved in monitoring the asset freeze orders, the trends in financial compliance along with the Central Bank of Ireland, as well as in managing the reporting process needed for the purpose of stopping illicit money flows linked with money laundering, proliferation financing and terrorist networks.