Handbook of Anti-Money Laundering.

CHAPTER 3INTERNATIONAL MONEY-LAUNDERING REGULATION – THE ROLE OF THE FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE¹

¹ Extracts from the FATF Recommendations and relevant FATF guidance and best practices are reproduced with kind permission of the Financial Action Task Force.

3.1 WHO ARE THE FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE?

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The FATF is, therefore, a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.

The FATF has developed a series of recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. They form the basis for a coordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field. First issued in 1990, the FATF Recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and, most recently, in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be for universal application.

The FATF monitors the progress of its members in ...