40 FATF 40 Recommendations
29

Recommendation 29 · Group F · Powers of Competent Authorities

Former: R.26

Financial intelligence units (FIUs)

Recommendation 29 requires every country to establish a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) — a national centre for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports and other AML/CFT-related information, with operational independence and the authority to disseminate intelligence to law enforcement and supervisors. The FIU must be a member of the Egmont Group or otherwise capable of secure international information exchange.

Who must comply?

  • Government bodies designated as the national FIU
  • Financial institutions and DNFBPs that file STRs
  • Domestic and foreign FIUs through Egmont and bilateral channels

Key requirements

  1. 1

    Centralised receipt of STRs

    The FIU must serve as the national centre for receiving STRs and other information relevant to ML, predicate offences and TF — from financial institutions, DNFBPs and any other reporting entities.

  2. 2

    Operational analysis

    The FIU must analyse STRs and other information, looking for patterns, networks and links to identify potential targets for investigation and to support law enforcement and prosecution.

  3. 3

    Strategic analysis

    Beyond individual cases, the FIU must conduct strategic analysis — typologies, trends and risk indicators — and disseminate this knowledge to obliged entities, supervisors and policymakers.

  4. 4

    Dissemination to competent authorities

    The FIU must have authority to disseminate intelligence — spontaneously and on request — to law enforcement, supervisors, tax authorities and other competent authorities, both domestically and internationally.

  5. 5

    Operational independence

    The FIU must have operational independence and autonomy — adequate funding, staffing and technology — and be free from undue political or industry influence in its analytical and dissemination decisions.

  6. 6

    Information access

    The FIU must have access, directly or indirectly, to a wide range of information — including financial, administrative and law-enforcement databases — necessary for analysis.

  7. 7

    International cooperation

    The FIU must be able to cooperate internationally — typically through Egmont Group membership — to receive, analyse and disseminate information related to cross-border ML, TF and predicate offences.

Practical example

Example: Mexico's UIF intelligence flow

Mexico's UIF (Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, attached to the SHCP) receives ROR/ROI/ROIP from financial institutions via the CNBV, plus avisos from vulnerable activities via the SAT. It cross-references this with criminal databases, FGR investigations, and information from foreign FIUs through Egmont. When it detects a network — for example, a corruption-linked PEP using shell companies and real-estate purchases — the UIF sends an intelligence package to the FGR for criminal action and to the CNBV/SAT for entity supervision.

How Mexico implements it

Country-specific section in Spanish — Mexican regulatory references (LFPIORPI, CNBV, SAT, UIF).

México opera la UIF como organismo central, miembro del Grupo Egmont:

UIF — Adscrita a SHCP

La UIF es la unidad de inteligencia financiera oficial de México, integrada a la Secretaría de Hacienda. Recibe reportes y avisos, analiza, disemina y coopera con UIFs extranjeras vía Egmont (más de 170 UIFs miembros).

UIF: qué es, funciones y cómo opera

Convenio UIF-CNBV 2026

Formalizó la coordinación entre la UIF y la CNBV: intercambio de información, inspecciones conjuntas, administración tecnológica de la lista de personas bloqueadas. Esto fortalece la independencia operativa al separar inteligencia (UIF) de supervisión (CNBV).

Lista de Personas Bloqueadas

La UIF coopera con la SHCP en la administración de la Lista de Personas Bloqueadas, incorporando designaciones ONU (R.6 + R.7) y designaciones nacionales (Resolución 1373).

Guías UIF

La UIF publica periódicamente guías y tipologías para sujetos obligados — incluida la Guía sobre Países de Riesgo y FT 2026, con 20+ indicadores específicos.

Guía UIF Países de Riesgo y FT 2026

Milestones

  1. 1995

    Egmont Group founded as informal network of FIUs

  2. 2003

    Original Recommendation 26 on FIUs

  3. 2012

    Renumbered as Recommendation 29 with broader analytical mandate

  4. 2025

    October 2025 update strengthens FIU operational independence standards

Related Recommendations

Other Recommendations in Group F — Powers of Competent Authorities

26 R.26 Regulation of financial institutions 27 R.27 Powers of supervisors 28 R.28 Regulation of DNFBPs 30 R.30 Law enforcement responsibilities 31 R.31 Law enforcement powers 32 R.32 Cash couriers 33 R.33 Statistics 34 R.34 Guidance & feedback 35 R.35 Sanctions

Official citation

FATF (2012-2025), International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation, Recommendation 29, FATF, Paris, France. Last updated October 2025.

Read the official text on fatf-gafi.org