CIMA visits UK financial intelligence unit.

Senior representatives from UK regulatory bodies, including CIMA, recently visited the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) to improve their understanding of the work of departments in the unit, which is part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

Members of the Regulators' Forum spent a day with UKFIU departments, including the terrorist finance team. They also discussed the importance of the agency's relationship with the private sector.

David Thomas, head of the unit, opened the day's events. He said the purpose of inviting members of the forum was to strengthen ties between Soca and the private sector.

"I hope that members found the day informative and that it gave them information they can pass on to their colleagues and to the firms their organisations supervise," he said. "I invited members to demonstrate just how important they are to the work of the UKFIU."

Martin Nimmo, head of policy and plans in CIMA's professional standards department, attended on behalf of the institute.

"The close co-operation between the UK's Financial Intelligence Unit and CIMA is well demonstrated by this visit," Nimmo said. "Soca took the opportunity to involve many of its departments and to take the regulators into its confidence on a wide variety of important issues. This event has not only improved relationships; it has also given us a valuable insight into the workings of a money-launderer's mind."