Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
What Is the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization that designs and promotes policies and standards to combat financial crime. Recommendations created by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) target money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to the global financial system. The FATF was created in 1989 at the behest of the G7 and is headquartered in Paris.
Understanding the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
The rise of the global economy and international trade has given rise to financial crimes such as money laundering. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) makes recommendations for combating financial crime, reviews members’ policies and procedures, and seeks to increase acceptance of anti-money laundering regulations across the globe. Because money launderers and others alter their techniques to avoid apprehension, the FATF must update its recommendations every few years.
A list of recommendations to combat terrorist financing was added in 2001, and in the latest update, published in 2012, the recommendations were expanded to target new threats, including financing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Recommendations were also added to be clearer on transparency and corruption.
Members of the Financial Action Task Force
As of 2018, there were 37 members of the Financial Action Task Force, including the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council. To become a member, a country must be considered strategically important (large population, large GDP, developed banking and insurance sector, etc.), must adhere to globally accepted financial standards, and be a participant in other important international organizations.