Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) in Gandhinagar will host a five-day BRICS capacity-building programme on combating money laundering and terrorist financing from 7 to 11 September, bringing together policymakers, financial intelligence units, supervisory authorities, law-enforcement agencies, and prosecution bodies from BRICS member states. The programme forms a key plank of India's BRICS Chairship 2026.

Programme Overview

Titled 'Emerging Risks, FATF Methodologies & BRICS Best Practices', the training is being co-organised by RRU — an Institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Home Affairs — and the FATF Cell of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance. The inaugural session is scheduled for 9:30 am on 7 September at the RRU campus in Gandhinagar.

Sessions will cover anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), with a focus on emerging financial crime risks, evolving international standards, and institutional responses. Participants will also examine challenges posed by the growing use of technology, increasingly complex financial networks, and the cross-border nature of illicit financial flows.

Key Developments and Format

The five-day programme will feature expert-led sessions, country presentations, and interactive discussions centred on FATF methodologies and practical approaches to strengthening national AML/CFT frameworks. A significant emphasis will be placed on peer learning, operational knowledge-sharing, and building professional networks among institutions across BRICS nations.

RRU stated that the initiative is designed to strengthen institutional cooperation and technical capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate financial crime — particularly as illicit financial flows increasingly operate across multiple jurisdictions.

Broader BRICS Context

The training programme arrives just days before India hosts the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit in New Delhi from 11 to 13 September. India's 2026 BRICS chairship has prioritised practical cooperation across areas including innovation, resilient supply chains, and development-oriented priorities, with financial crime a central security dimension.

Notably, this programme is part of a wider pattern of technical diplomacy under India's chairship, using multilateral training platforms to reinforce institutional linkages ahead of the Leaders' Summit.

RRU's International Training Track Record

RRU has steadily expanded its role as a hub for international security capacity-building. The university has organised 61 specialised training programmes involving more than 2,000 participants from 85 countries, covering financial crime, cybersecurity, policing, forensics, and related security fields. Several of these programmes have been conducted under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) framework.

In August 2026, RRU launched the second cohort of its Master's in Financial and Economic Security programme, developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The programme is aimed at building professional capabilities to address sophisticated financial and economic crimes.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, speaking at RRU's fourth convocation, described the institution as one that 'fills a critical niche by professionally training and certifying stakeholders across internal security, national security, and economic security through domain experts.'

What Comes Next

With the BRICS Leaders' Summit immediately following the training programme's conclusion on 11 September, the outcomes and networks forged during the five-day session are expected to feed directly into broader multilateral discussions on financial crime governance. The programme's close alignment with India's chairship agenda signals that AML and CFT cooperation will remain a priority in the BRICS framework going forward.