Some questions on the FATF 40+9 and the Methodology for Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40+9 Recommendations

Abstract

Nation states and the wider international community are increasingly concerned with the levels of national compliance with the global anti money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards established by the FATF. The implications for non-adherence to such standards can be damaging to nation states' reputations and the well being of their financial systems. The measurement of these levels of compliance is a difficult exercise given differing legal and financial systems, levels of resources and competing national priorities. The key tool for this assessment is the Methodology for Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations and the FATF 9 Special Recommendations. While the objectives of the Methodology are critical to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the Methodology (and indeed some of the Recommendations on which the Methodology is predicated on) present particular difficulties for assessors and the assessed countries in interpreting these principles and translating them into the country's legal and institutional framework. It may be time to re-look the Methodology and the underpinning Recommendations with a view to streamlining and simplifying the assessment process.