Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 2018 — The emergence of digital currencies and blockchain technology is rapidly transforming financial systems. It has enabled new forms of financial crime that threaten national and international financial systems but also cities, since this is where the bulk of illegal money is invested.
How can cities detect and counter these new types of crime? This was the theme of the conference “Flying Money – Investigating illicit financial flows in the city” organised by the city of Amsterdam (NL), a member of Efus, in partnership with the University of Applied Sciences of Amsterdam, on 22-24 May.
Efus took part in this meeting, represented by the Government of Catalonia (ES), the city of Rotterdam (NL), both vice president of the association, as well as by the city of Malmö (SE) and the Emilia Romagna Region (IT), both members of the Executive Committee.
“Cities are places where global money flows converge: they must grapple with foreign investments in real estate, hotels, restaurants, clubs and other businesses,” explained the Mayor of Amsterdam, Jozias van Aartsen. “Our current instruments have limitations and it is critical that we use the latest insights and develop local methods for tackling these problems.”
The Mayor of Amsterdam also insisted on the importance for local authorities of exchanging knowledge, policies and practices in order to better confront these new forms of crime. Efus can play this role and indeed, it wants to strengthen exchange and knowledge on this topic. As a matter of fact, the host of the 2019 “Flying Money” conference will be another Efus member city, Malmö.
More information on the conference here: https://eucpn.org/events/flying-money-conference-investigating-illicit-financial-flows-city
