The National Police organized the first national congress on “Public-Private Collaboration in the Fight against Terrorism Financing and Radicalization” at the CECA auditorium in Madrid. The event gathered numerous specialists in the field of preventing, detecting, and combating terrorist financing. The conference, organized by the General Information Commissariat, was supported by the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Infractions (SEPBLAC) and the Public Treasury, and sponsored by: AEB, ASNEF, CECA, MasterCard, and Sayari.
Strengthening Public-Private Ties
Within this theme, various national working groups have promoted the holding of this first congress, with the aim of establishing and strengthening ties with entities obligated to prevent and detect terrorism financing and radicalization. To this end, topics such as “the current terrorism situation,” “radicalization and its financing,” “actors involved in terrorism financing,” “cryptocurrencies as a means of financing,” and “public-private collaboration” were addressed during the conference.
The expert speakers who participated in this event represent various public and private organizations and bodies that play an essential role in this fight against terrorism. Representatives from the following national and international organizations attended as guests: the National Court, Bank of Spain, CNMV, CRAB, CITCO, EUROPOL, INTERPOL, and OCP-Notariado.
The General Commissioner of Information of the National Police, Eugenio Pereiro Blanco, inaugurated the conference alongside Pedro Comín Rodríguez, Director of SEPBLAC, Lourdes Jiménez Ramos, Deputy Director of the Public Treasury, and Chief Commissioner Marcial Píriz de Vargas Machuca. All emphasized the importance of collaboration between different entities, which is fundamental for preventing the problem.
The first panel, moderated by Raquel Cabeza Pérez, Corporate Director of Risks and Compliance at CECA, addressed “the fight against Terrorism Financing,” and was composed of: Marta Laguno Álvarez, Chief Inspector of the National Police, Felipe Vergara del Toro, National Police analyst, and Jorge Vallet Fernández, professor at the University of Alcalá. It became clear that financial entities are fully committed to combating terrorism financing, and for this, public-private collaboration and knowledge of trends observed by authorities are vital to ensuring effective prevention measures.
Subsequently, Juan José Matías González, Head of Fraud Prevention and Money Laundering at ASNEF, moderated the panel on Terrorism Financing at SEPBLAC, to which all panel speakers belonged: Juan Carlos Calleja, Division Head; Eduardo Bañares, Unit Head; and Antonio Sevilla, analyst. The main conclusion of this debate was that, in any area of prevention, be it fraud, money laundering, or terrorism financing, sharing information is fundamental, hence the importance of public-private collaboration.
Finally, AEB’s Legal Advisor, María Peco González, moderated the dialogue in the “Institutional Collaboration and Private Sector Panel in the Fight against Terrorism Financing,” composed of: Antonio Rubén Sánchez del Castillo, Deputy Director of Counter-Terrorism Operations at INTERPOL; Luis Manuel López-Crego Gómez, National Police Liaison Officer (EUROPOL); Mastercard Vice President, Alberto López González; and Claudio di Gregorio, Enterprise Account Executive at SAYARI. The main theme highlighted in this conversation was the importance of public-private collaboration between institutions and the private sector in the fight against terrorism financing. Also discussed were challenges and successful examples/cases that contribute to a common fight by both sectors.
