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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body created in 1989 by the G7 which is a meeting of the finance ministers from a group of seven industrialized nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. The purpose of FATF is to develop and promote national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
The United States is a member of FATF and has pledged to support its work. The FATF is therefore a "policy-making body" that works to generate the necessary political will, among its 32 member countries, to implement FATF recommendations through legislative and regulatory reforms.
The work of the FATF focuses on three principal areas:
- Setting standards for national anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing programs;
- Evaluating the degree to which countries have implemented measures that meet those standards; and
- Identifying and studying money laundering and terrorist financing methods and trends.
The FATF has published 40 Recommendations plus 9 Special Recommendations in order to address these areas.
FATF Reports
RBA Guidance for Real Estate Agents (June 17, 2008)
This Guidance on the Risk-Based Approach to combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing was developed by the FATF in close consultation with representatives of the world-wide real estate industry. The Guidance supports the development of a common understanding of what the risk-based approach involves, outlines the high-level principles involved in applying the risk-based approach, and indicates good public and private sector practice in the design and implementation of an effective risk-based approach. FATF Guidance does not require mandatory compliance but exists to aid real estate agents in implementing relevant FAFT recommendations.
Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing through the Real Estate Sector (June 29, 2007)
This report on vulnerabilities of the real estate sector to misuse for money laundering and terrorist financing is the first FATF in-depth study to deal with this issue. It identifies a number of the most common money laundering methods that are associated with real estate operations, investment and financing. The research conducted for this project also found some evidence that these same methods have sometimes been used for suspected terrorist financing schemes.
Third Mutual Evaluation Report on Anti-Money Laundering & Combating the Financing of Terrorism: United States (June 23, 2006)
This report provides a summary of the anti-money laundering (AML)/counter-terrorist financing (CFT) measures in place in the United States (U.S.) as of 5 May 2006. The report describes and analyzes those measures, and provides recommendations on how certain aspects of the system could be strengthened. It also sets out the U.S.’s levels of compliance with the FATF 40+9 Recommendations