The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is an organization of states and territories of the Caribbean Basin that have agreed to implement common counter-measures against money laundering. CFATF has associate status within the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). [1]
The CFATF was established as the result of two key meetings convened in Aruba in and Jamaica. [2] In Aruba in 1990 representatives of Caribbean and Central American countries developed a general approach to the problem of the laundering of criminal proceeds and made 19 recommendations. [3] [4] A meeting of ministers held in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1992, resulted in the Kingston Declaration, endorsing the commitment of the member states to implementing the recommendations and coordinating the implementation through establishment of the CFATF Secretariat. [4] [2]
Members [5] of CFATF are:
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is usually a key operation of organized crime.
In financial regulation, a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) or Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) is a report made by a financial institution about suspicious or potentially suspicious activity as required under laws designed to counter money laundering, financing of terrorism and other financial crimes. The criteria to decide when a report must be made varies from country to country, but generally is any financial transaction that either a) does not make sense to the financial institution; b) is unusual for that particular client; or c) appears to be done only for the purpose of hiding or obfuscating another, separate transaction. The report is filed with that country's financial crime enforcement agency, which is typically a specialist agency designed to collect and analyse transactions and then report these to relevant law enforcement teams.
The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering and to maintain certain interest. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is an Australian government financial intelligence agency responsible for monitoring financial transactions to identify money laundering, organised crime, tax evasion, welfare fraud and terrorism financing. AUSTRAC was established in 1989 under the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988. It implements in Australia the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which Australia joined in 1990.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to a set of policies and practices to ensure that financial institutions and other regulated entities prevent, detect, and report financial crime and especially money laundering activities. Anti-Money Laundering is often paired with the action against terrorism financing, or Combating the Financing of Terrorism, using the acronym AML-CFT. In addition arrangements intended to ensure that banks and other relevant firms duly report suspicious transactions, the AML policy framework includes financial intelligence units and relevant law enforcement operations.
Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors.
The Financial Action Task Force blacklist, is a blacklist maintained by the Financial Action Task Force.
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is an international organization that facilitates cooperation and intelligence sharing between national financial intelligence units (FIUs) to investigate and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. National FIUs collect information on suspicious or unusual financial activity and are responsible for processing and analyzing the information received. FIUs are normally not law enforcement agencies themselves, findings are shared with appropriate law enforcement or prosecution bodies if sufficient evidence of unlawful activity is found. The Egmont Group is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
In financial regulation, a politically exposed person (PEP) is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function. A PEP generally presents a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence they may hold. The terms "politically exposed person" and senior foreign political figure are often used interchangeably, particularly in international forums.
The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) is a FATF style regional inter-governmental (international) body, the members of which are committed to effectively implementing the international standards against money laundering, the combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. APG was founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand, and currently consists of 42 member jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region and a number of observer jurisdictions and international/regional observer organisations.
Some decisions, actions or reports made at or by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have raised controversy.
The crime rate in the United Arab Emirates is relatively low compared to more highly industrialized nations. Incidents of petty crime such as pickpocketing are low. The United States Department of State states: "Crime generally is not a problem for travelers in the UAE. However, the U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens to take normal precautions against theft, such as not leaving a wallet, purse, or credit card unattended. Although vehicle break-ins in the UAE are rare, U.S. citizens are encouraged to ensure that unattended vehicles are locked and that valuables are not left out in plain sight".
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes was founded in 2000 and restructured in September 2009. It consists of OECD member countries as well as other jurisdictions that have agreed to implement tax related transparency and information exchange. The forum works under the auspices of the OECD and G20. Its mission is to "implement the international standard through two phases of peer review process". It addresses tax evasion, tax havens, offshore financial centres, tax information exchange agreements, double taxation and money laundering.
Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) is a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States responsible for facilitating the adoption and implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) in West Africa. It is also the FATF Style Regional Body (FSRB) in West Africa and works with states in the region to ensure compliance with international AML/CFT standards. GIABA was established in 2000 and has its headquarters in Dakar, Senegal. GIABA consists of 17 member states.
Moneyval is the common and official name of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism. Moneyval is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe, with 47 member states, reporting directly to its principal organ, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
The Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, also known as the Warsaw Convention or CETS 198, is a Council of Europe convention which aims to facilitate international co-operation and mutual assistance in investigating crime and tracking down, seizing and confiscating the proceeds thereof.
The Wolfsberg Group is a non-governmental association of thirteen global banks. It started as a meeting of banks in 1999 who adopted a number of best practice standards under the name Wolfsberg Principles. On 22 September 2021 the association under Swiss law under the name "The Wolfsberg Group" was founded in Basel.
The Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU) is a Qatari government regulatory agency responsible for financial intelligence efforts to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. Like other national Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) around the world, it requires banks, investment companies, insurers and other financial institutions to report suspicious financial transactions. QFIU then analyzes the information and disseminates the relevant data to law enforcement authorities for further investigation and action.
Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) is the financial regulatory authority of Vanuatu. It was created by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission Act No. 35 of 1993 when it assumed a part of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. The VFSC regulates non-banking financial services in the country.
The Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses is the financial intelligence unit (FIU) of the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. As FIU, the Sepblac is the supervisory authority for the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the execution of sanctions and financial countermeasures of the 2010 Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism Act. Since 30 October 2020, the director of the Executive Service is Pedro Manuel Comín Rodríguez.
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