During the last Egmont Group plenary meeting that took place in Barbados (7-12 June), Mr. Abdul Hafiz Mansour, the Secretary of the Special Investigation Commission (SIC)-FIU of Lebanon, was elected as Vice Chairman for the Egmont Group (EG).

Currently, the Egmont Group comprises Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of 151 countries whose key role is to exchange information on money laundering and terrorist financing.  FIUs play a pivotal role in the AML/CFT regime as per the International Standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the World Bank, the International Finance Fund and concerned organizations in the United Nations.

Mr. Mansour comes on the heels of his election earlier this year as Regional Representative for FIUs in the Middle East and in North Africa.

Mr. Mansour’s election as the EG-Vice Chair marks an advanced achievement to Lebanon and to the Special Investigation Commission headed by the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Riad Salameh, and is a statement from the international community in recognition of the contributions of the SIC to the global and regional efforts to fight money laundering and combat terrorist financing.