A new international forum to fight the financing of terrorism has been launched by the Royal Gibraltar Police.

Now officers from Law Enforcement Agencies and Financial Intelligence Units in Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Gibraltar have teamed up to share their expertise and experiences in the field.

The project, under the leadership of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Tunbridge, follows an external review of Gibraltar’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism regimes in 2019 by MoneyVal.

MoneyVal is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe that counters money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The body’s recommendations required Gibraltar to strengthen its ties with other jurisdictions in this area of policing to stay ahead of terrorist financing trends.

DCI Tunbridge explained that due to similarities between the legal frameworks and financial centres of Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey, the Countering the Financing of Terrorism Forum will help specialist officers share their experiences, which will benefit all four jurisdictions.

He said: “We plan to develop training capabilities in the forum and hear from experts in the UK who will share their specialised knowledge with us. This will include briefings from the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, who form part of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, SO15.

“We also want to increase the number of international partners we work with in the future, thereby increasing the learning opportunities that this partnership will bring.”

DCI Tunbridge, who heads the RGP’s Economic Crime Unit, added that the force continues to prioritise national security.

He explained: “And this is another tool in achieving these goals.

“This is a challenging and ever developing area of policing where keeping in step with developments and trends can mean the difference between life and death.

“Gibraltar continues to develop its understanding of the risk it faces to its financial sectors being used to fund terrorism and sees this type of partnership working as assisting the fight against terror to build a safer world community.”