Revised FATF Recommendations

The Financial Action Task Force has issued its revised International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation – The FATF Recommendations. The revised FATF Recommendations can be found at http://www.fatf-gafi.org/dataoecd/49/29/49684543.pdf

The main changes from the FATF 40 Recommendations + 9 Special Recommendations that they replace are: -

• The 9 Special Recommendations have been subsumed into the revised 40 Recommendations.
• Combating the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction through the consistent implementation of targeted financial sanctions when these are called for by the UN Security Council.
• Improved transparency to make it harder for criminals and terrorists to conceal their identities or hide their assets behind legal persons and arrangements.
• Stronger requirements when dealing with politically exposed persons (PEPs).
• Expanding the scope of money laundering predicate offences by including tax crimes.
• An enhanced risk-based approach which enables countries and the private sector to apply their resources more efficiently by focusing on higher risk areas.
• More effective international cooperation including exchange of information between relevant authorities, conduct of joint investigations, and tracing, freezing and confiscation of illegal assets.
• Better operational tools and a wider range of techniques and powers, both for the financial intelligence units, and for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing.