Washington D.C., June 21, 2019 – The Institute of International Finance (IIF) issued the following statement today at the conclusion of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Plenary meeting in Orlando, an event which coincides with the organization’s 30th anniversary.
“We commend the FATF on three decades of working to counter the threats that criminal funds pose to the integrity of the international financial system,” said IIF President and CEO Tim Adams. “The financial services industry values the opportunity to work collectively with the FATF, its member states and its affiliate organizations to stem the flow of illicit finance worldwide.”
Cross-border criminal financial activity goes to support terrorism, human trafficking, drug smuggling and cyber-attacks. The FATF is a critical organization in stemming this tide of problems, all of which impact the safety and security of our society.
The global framework for AML/CFT is still not as effective as it could be however, with the amount of money laundered internationally each year estimated at 2 percent to 5 percent of global GDP. Though billions have been invested in the effort to tackle this problem, more needs to be done. A combination of regulatory reform and the deployment of new technology could significantly improve efforts of governments and the financial industry to counter the threats posed by international criminal financiers.
“The IIF looks forward to working with the FATF in key areas which will improve the AML/CFT architecture: domestic and cross-border financial crime information sharing; implementing regulatory reform coupled with international consistency in AML/CFT standards; and enhancing support for innovation and the use of regulatory technology,” said Adams.
