FATF-Style Regional Bodies

FATF-Style Regional Bodies FATF-Style Regional Bodies and FATF and Associate Members There are nine FSRBs, which have similar forms and functions to that of FATF. They are also considered FATF associate members. In setting standards, FATF depends on input from the FSRBs as much as from its own members; however, FATF remains the only standard-setting body. The following high-level principles apply to both FATF and FSRBs: • Role: Both FATF and FSRBs help jurisdictions implement FATF standards. FSRBs play an essential role in identifying and addressing whatever AML/CFT technical assistance their individual members might need. FSRBs that coordinate technical assistance for their members also offer mutual evaluation and follow-up processes. • Autonomy: FATF and FSRBs are free-standing organizations that share the common goals of combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation, as well as fostering effective AML/CFT systems. • Sharing common objectives and working in partnership: Despite the autonomy of FATF and the individual FSRBs, they share a common goal in combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation, fostering effective AML/CFT systems, and identifying and addressing threats to the financial system. • Reciprocity: FATF and FSRBs operate on the basis of (mutual, joint, or common) recognition of their work, which implies that FSRBs and FATF put in place similar mechanisms for effective participation and involvement in one another’s’ activities. • Common interest: Because FATF and FSRBs are part of a larger whole, and the success or failure of one organization can affect all organizations, protection of the FATF brand is in the common interest of both FATF and FSRBs. Many FATF member countries are also members of the nine FSRBs: • Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) • Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) • Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL, formerly PC-R-EV) • Eurasian Group (EAG) • Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) • Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) (formerly known as Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering in South America (GAFISUD) • Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) • Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) • Task Force on Money Laundering in Central Africa (GABAC) Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) The APG, an autonomous regional AML body, was established in February 1997 at the Fourth Asia/Pacific Money Laundering Symposium in Bangkok, where it adopted its Terms of Reference. The Terms of Reference were substantially revised in July 2012 to recognize that the FATF’s revised 40 Recommendations constituted the new international standards on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. The Terms included a commitment that APG members would implement these recommendations according to their specific cultural values and constitutional frameworks. It also stipulated that, to ensure a global approach, members of the APG would work closely with FATF. The APG uses similar mechanisms as FATF to monitor and facilitate progress. The APG and FATF have reciprocal rights of attendance at each other’s meetings, as well as reciprocal sharing of documents. However, the APG, as with other autonomous AML bodies, determines its own policies and practices. It is not a precondition for participation in the APG that AML/CFT laws already be enacted. The APG: • Provides a focus for cooperative AML/CFT efforts in the Asia/Pacific region • Provides a forum in which regional issues can be discussed and experiences shared, and operational cooperation among member jurisdictions is encouraged • Facilitates the adoption and implementation by member jurisdictions of internationally accepted AML/CFT measures • Enables regional and jurisdictional factors to be taken into account in the implementation of international AML/CFT measures • Encourages jurisdictions to implement AML/CFT initiatives, including more effective mutual legal assistance • Coordinates and provides practical support, when possible, to member and observer jurisdictions in the region, when requested The APG is voluntary and cooperative in nature. The work done by the APG and its procedures are decided by mutual agreement among its members. The group was established by agreement among its members and is autonomous; it is not derived from an international treaty and is not part of any international organization. The APG continues to grow. APG members include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Kingdom of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hong Kong SAR (China), India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, Maldives, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tonga, United States of America, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. The APG Secretariat is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Given its proximity to the world’s largest cocaine producers and exporters in South America’s Andean region and one of the largest drug markets (the US), the Caribbean basin has long been a convenient banking center for many international criminals, including drug traffickers. The group consists of 27 states in the Caribbean Basin and Central and South America that have agreed to implement common countermeasures to address the problems of money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the WMD proliferation. It was established as the result of meetings convened in Aruba in May 1990 and Jamaica in November 1992. The main objective of the CFATF is to achieve effective implementation of and compliance with its recommendations to prevent and control money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism. The Secretariat has been established as a mechanism to monitor and encourage progress to ensure full implementation of the Kingston Ministerial Declaration (see below). In May 1990, representatives of Western Hemisphere countries, in particular from the Caribbean and from Central America, convened in Aruba to develop a common approach to the phenomenon of money laundering. Nineteen recommendations constituting this common approach were formulated. These recommendations, which had specific relevance to the region, complemented the FATF’s 40 Recommendations. The Jamaica Ministerial Meeting was held in Kingston in November 1992. Ministers issued the Kingston Ministerial Declaration, in which they endorsed and affirmed their governments’ commitment to implement the FATF and Aruba Recommendations, the Organization of American States (OAS) Model Regulations, and the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. They also mandated the establishment of the Secretariat to coordinate the implementation of these recommendations by CFATF member countries. The Declaration recommended laws: • Defining money laundering based on the model laws issued by the OAS • Concerning the seizure and forfeiture of drug proceeds and linked assets that enable the identification, tracing, and evaluation of property subject to seizure and that permit freezing orders • Allowing judicial challenges to seizure orders by an administrative body • Permitting forfeiture in all cases following conviction • Permitting courts to decide that “all property obtained during a prescribed period of time by a person convicted of drug trafficking has been derived from such criminal activity” The Caribbean nations agreed to enter into mutual assistance agreements with one another to assist in money laundering investigations. They also agreed that money laundering should be an extraditable offense subject to simplified procedures and forfeited assets should be shared among cooperating nations. CFATF members include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarten, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Venezuela, and Virgin Islands. The CFATF monitors members’ implementation of the anti-money laundering recommendations. The CFATF Secretariat is hosted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in the Port of Spain. Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) In September 1997, MONEYVAL was established by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to conduct self- and mutual-assessment exercises of the AML measures in place in Council of Europe member states that were not members of FATF. MONEYVAL became an associate member of FATF in 2006. On October 13, 2010, the Committee of Ministers adopted the Resolution CM/Res(2010)12 on the Statute of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL). The statute elevated MONEYVAL to an independent monitoring mechanism within the Council of Europe, answerable directly to the Committee of Ministers on January 1, 2011. The MONEYVAL Statute was further amended in 2013 by the Resolution CM/ Res(2013)13. MONEYVAL members include: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Gibraltar*, Georgia, Guernsey*, Hungary, Holy See (since April 2011)*, Isle of Man*, Israel (since January 2006)*, Jersey*, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation (also a FATF member since 2003), San Marino, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Ukraine. *Nonmember States of the Council of Europe. MONEYVAL is hosted by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) The Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), formerly known as Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering in South America (GAFISUD), was created in December 2000 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, when a memorandum of understanding was signed by government representatives from nine countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Since then, several other countries have joined as full members of the task force, including Mexico (2006), Costa Rica and Panama (2010), Cuba (2012), Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (2013), and the Dominican Republic (2016). GAFILAT was created in the style of FATF and accepts its 40 Recommendations as the international standard against money laundering and terrorist financing. It also develops enhanced recommendations to improve national policies against those crimes. GAFILAT supports its members in the implementation of the 40 Recommendations as national legislation and the creation of a regional prevention system against money laundering and terrorist financing. The two main tools are training measures and mutual evaluations. GAFILAT members include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. GAFILAT has legal capacity and diplomatic status in the Argentine Republic where its Secretariat is located in Buenos Aires. Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) GIABA was established on December 10, 1999, by a decision of the Authority of Heads of State and government of the Economic Community of West African States. In January 2006, GIABA revised its mandate to fully incorporate and properly reflect its fight against the financing of terrorism. The objectives of GIABA are to: • Protect the national economies and the financial and banking systems of signatory states against the proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism • Improve measures and intensify efforts to combat the proceeds from crime • Strengthen cooperation among its members GIABA members include Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of The Gambia, Republic of Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Mali, Republic of Niger, Federal Republic of Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Sierra Leone, and Togolese Republic. GIABA’s Secretariat is located in Dakar in Senegal, West Africa. Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) At an inaugural ministerial meeting held in Manama, Bahrain, in November 2004, the governments of 14 countries decided to establish a FATF-style regional body for the Middle East and North Africa. The MENAFATF is voluntary in nature and was established by agreement among its members. It is not derived from an international treaty. It is independent of any other international organization and establishes its own work, rules, and procedures, which are determined by consensus of its members. It cooperates with other international bodies, notably FATF, to achieve its objectives. Member countries of MENAFATF have agreed on the following objectives and work toward achieving them: • Adopt and implement FATF’s 40 Recommendations against money laundering and terrorist financing and proliferation, as well as the related UN Conventions and UN Security Council Resolutions as the accepted international standards in this regard, in addition to any other standards that are adopted by Arab states to enhance the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation in the region. • Implement the relevant UN treaties and agreements and UN Security Council Resolutions regarding fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. • Cooperate to raise compliance with these standards and measures within the MENA region and work with other international organizations to raise compliance worldwide. • Work together to identify regional money laundering and terrorist financing issues, share experiences with these problems, and develop regional solutions for dealing with them. • Build effective arrangements and systems throughout the region to effectively fight money laundering and terrorist financing that do not contradict with the cultural values, constitutional frameworks, and legal systems of the member countries. MENAFATF members include People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Djibouti, Arab Republic of Egypt, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, State of Kuwait, The Lebanese Republic, State of Libya, Kingdom of Morocco, Sultanate of Oman, State of Palestine, State of Qatar, Republic of Iraq, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Federal Republic of Somalia, Republic of Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Republic of Yemen. MENAFATF is headquartered in Manama, Bahrain. The Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism (EAG) The Eurasian Group (EAG) was formed in October 2004 in Moscow. The EAG was created for the countries of the Eurasian region that are not included in the existing FSRBs. The primary goals of EAG are to ensure effective interaction and cooperation at the regional level and integration of EAG member states into the international AML/CFT system in accordance with FATF’s 40 Recommendations and the standards of other international organizations to which EAG member states are party. The main tasks of EAG are: • Assisting member states in implementing the FATF Recommendations • Developing and conducting joint activities aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing • Implementing a program of mutual evaluations of member states based on the FATF Recommendations, including assessment of the effectiveness of legislative and other measures adopted in the sphere of AML/CFT efforts • Coordinating international cooperation and technical assistance programs with specialized international organizations, bodies, and interested states • Analyzing money laundering and terrorist financing trends (typologies) and exchanging best practices of combating such crimes, taking into account regional specifics The EAG members include Republic of Belarus, China, Republic of India, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Republic of Uzbekistan. The EAG is headquartered in Moscow, Russian Federation. Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) The Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) is an intergovernmental body with a mandate to promote the effective implementation of legal, regulatory, and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to the integrity of the international financial system. Launched in Tanzania in 1999, current membership in the ESAAMLG comprises 19 countries: Angola, Botswana, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The main decision-making body of the ESAAMLG is the Council of Ministers, which comprises state member ministers who manage financial matters. The group developed a Memorandum of Understanding among its member countries, in which they agreed to: • Adopt and implement the 40 FATF Recommendations • Apply AML measures to all serious crimes • Implement measures to combat the financing of terrorism • Implement any other measures contained in multilateral agreements and initiatives to which they subscribe for the prevention and control of the laundering of the proceeds of all serious crimes and the financing of terrorist activities Region-specific projects and studies are also undertaken by the ESAAMLG. For example, a project was initiated in 2014 to obtain information, statistics, and trends related to wildlife poaching, illegal trade in wildlife products, and associated money laundering. Building from these efforts, further study of money laundering and the illegal wildlife trade has been published by FATF, including red flags such as transfers between shell companies and wildlife organizations and corruption of PEPs. ESAAMLG is headquartered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Task Force on Money Laundering in Central Africa (GABAC) The Task Force on Money Laundering in Central Africa known as Groupe d’Action contre le Blanchiment d’Argent en Afrique Centrale (GABAC) is a body of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa. Established in 2000, its mandate is to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, assess the compliance of its members against FATF standards, provide technical assistance to its member states and facilitate international cooperation. In February 2012, GABAC became an observer organization of FATF. In October 2015, FATF recognized GABAC as an FSRB and admitted it as an Associate Member. GABAC members include Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. GABAC is headquartered Libreville, Gabon.