Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF)

FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering) is a special international financial group for the elaboration of financial measures concerning fight with money laundering. It was created at the G7 Summit held in Paris in 1989 as an independent association in response to the rising menace in the sphere of money laundering. The heads of the states and G7 Governments as well as the President of European Commission summoned this group from the member-states of G7, European commission and another 8 states since they realized the menace for bank system and financial institutions.

Group has been responsible for the consideration of methods and money-laundering tendencies, the review of actions which have already been undertaken at the national or international level, and the statement of measures, which are necessary to be taken for struggle against money-laundering. In April, 1990, less than a year later after its creation, FATF published the report containing «Forty recommendations» which represent a comprehensive plan of the actions necessary for struggle against money-laundering.

In 2001 FATF mission included working out of standards in the field of struggle against terrorism financing. In October, 2001 FATF published «Eight special recommendations» about the solution of terrorist activity financing problem. The further evolution of methods of money-laundering led FATF to complex revision of FATF standards in June, 2003. In October 2004 FATF published «Ninth special recommendation» promoting the further strengthening of the coordinated international standards of struggle against money-laundering and terrorism financing - 40+9 recommendations.

Today the norms containing in these recommendatory documents make for those standards that define the measures on struggle against worldwide laundering of "dirty" money and terrorism financing. They define identification of valid beneficiaries of bank transactions, record keeping allowing governmental bodies to restore the transaction, and also legal protection when getting information about suspicious transactions. It is recommended to strengthen control over financial institutions and increase the list of information on transactions with cash. The basic idea of recommendations is that the financial system should become more transparent.

FATF priority consists in maintenance of global actions on struggle against money-laundering and terrorism financing, and also its concrete worldwide realization of 40+9 Recommendations. One of the primary goals is the check of readiness of the national services tracing laundering of illegal money. First of all it concerns police, bank system and services on struggle against economic criminality. One of the basic tools of realization of FATF recommendations at the national level is the Finance Intelligence Unit (FIU) responsible for gathering and analyzing of financial information within the country to reveal the streams of financial assets extracted by an illegal way.

The basic tool of FATF decision-making is Plenary session which is summoned 3 times a year, and also FATF working groups:

• On estimations and implementation;

• On typologies;

• On counteraction to terrorism financing and money-laundering;

• On the review of international cooperation.

FATF is a temporary organization and exists only till there is a necessity for its work (last time FATF mandate has been prolonged in 2004 and functions till 2012).

FATF works in close cooperation with a number of international and regional bodies participating in struggle against money-laundering and terrorism financing. 35 countries and 2 organizations are FATF members. It is necessary to notice that 20 organizations and 1 country have the status of the observer at FATF. Regional FATF bodies have the similar form and functions along with those that consist in FATF, and some participants of FATF are also members of these bodies.

Detailed information you can find on the official site of the FATF (www.fatf-gafi.org)