Federal finance ministers Jim Flaherty, today officially opened the permanent headquarters of the secretariat of the Egmont Group.

The purpose of the Egmont Group is to enhance cooperation and information exchange to help combat global money laundering and terrorist financing.

It is an organization of 106 of the world’s financial intelligence units, including the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

“With the opening of this office, we are entering a new era in the global fight against financial crime,” Flaherty says. “This new permanent home will support the Egmont Group in its work to shut down money-laundering operations and starve criminals of the funds necessary to finance their destructive aims: drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorist activity.”

Flaherty confirmed that Canada is providing $5 million over five years to support the Egmont Group’s secretariat.