FATF – Financial Action Task Force (Global AML/CFT Standards)

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF, also GAFI — Groupe d'action financière) is an intergovernmental body founded by the G7 in 1989. It develops international standards and promotes the effective implementation of measures to combat money laundering (AML), terrorist financing (CFT) and proliferation financing (CPF).

• 40 Recommendations: The FATF's core rulebook defines minimum standards for legislation, law enforcement, financial regulation and international cooperation.
• Mutual Evaluation Reports (MERs): Regular country reviews on technical compliance and effectiveness.
• Grey and Black Lists: Countries with strategic deficiencies are placed on the FATF Grey List (enhanced monitoring) or Black List (call for countermeasures).
• FATF Network: FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) extend global reach.

The FATF was founded in 1989 at the G7 Summit in Paris in response to the growing threat posed by international drug trafficking and associated money laundering. In 1990, the FATF published its first 40 Recommendations. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to cover terrorist financing and adopted eight (later nine) Special Recommendations.

In 2003, the FATF comprehensively revised its 40 Recommendations, introducing the risk-based approach and stronger requirements on transparency of legal persons. A further comprehensive revision followed in 2012, integrating the Special Recommendations into the 40 Recommendations and adding proliferation financing. Since then, the standard has been further developed through guidance on virtual assets (2019, 2021) and beneficial ownership (2022, 2023). The FATF today has 40 members and over 200 participating jurisdictions through the FSRB network.

FATF standards are directed at all countries worldwide. Directly obligated are the 40 FATF member jurisdictions (including all G20 countries and EU member states through the European Commission's FATF membership); through the nine FSRBs the standards are extended to over 200 jurisdictions. Substantively, the 40 Recommendations cover: AML/CFT/CPF legislation, law enforcement (FIUs, investigation, confiscation), financial sector (banks, securities firms, insurance, crypto), non-financial sectors (DNFBP: lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, gambling operators, precious metals dealers) and international cooperation and MLA.

• R.1–2: Risk assessment and risk-based approach.
• R.3–4: Criminalisation of money laundering and confiscation.
• R.5–8: Criminalisation of terrorist and proliferation financing.
• R.9–23: Due diligence obligations for financial institutions (CDD, EDD, PEP, correspondent banking, new technologies).
• R.24–25: Transparency of legal persons and trusts (beneficial ownership).
• R.26–35: Regulation and supervision, FIUs, law enforcement.
• R.36–40: International cooperation (mutual legal assistance, extradition, information sharing).

FATF Standards → AMLR implementation — direct connection was missing (indirect path via aml-pkg existed).

1 update:
- FATF last_amended (2023-11-03) is outdated and incorrect