FATF Gives United States High Marks on Its Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Program

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques, and monitors members' progress in implementing necessary counter-measures. 

The CounterTerrorism Blog noted in a post yesterday that the FATF had sent a team to the United States last spring to evaluate American compliance with FATF recommendations. A report was issued in June that provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the United States' anti money laundering program. In particular, the report praised U.S. progress in "terms of prosecutions, convictions, seizures, asset freezing, confiscation and regulatory enforcement actions." These favorable results stem in large part from the from the enactment and implementation of the Patriot Act and the Bank Secrecy Act. One sore point was overlap between the jurisdictions of the various law enforcement agencies, which complicates coordination between these agencies.

See the full FTAF evaluation report of the United States here.

Visit the FATF website here.