40 Recommendations
Definition
FATF's core normative standards, covering customer due diligence, suspicious transaction reporting, beneficial ownership, targeted financial sanctions, and international cooperation. Last substantially revised in 2012.
- Issuer
- Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
- First issued
- 1990
- Last major revision
- 2012
- Scope
- AML/CFT customer due diligence, reporting, sanctions and cooperation standards
Common questions
Are the 40 Recommendations legally binding?+
No. FATF is a policy-making body, not a treaty organisation. Countries adopt the Recommendations into domestic law, and FATF and regional bodies then assess compliance through mutual evaluations, which affect a country's grey list or black list status.
What happened to the old Special Recommendations on terrorist financing?+
They were merged into the main 40 Recommendations during the 2012 revision, so counter-terrorist financing standards now sit alongside anti-money-laundering standards in one consolidated document rather than a separate list.
Related terms
- Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs)
- Non-bank sectors required under FATF standards to apply AML controls, including real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, trust and company service providers, and...
- Egmont Group
- An international network of 166 financial intelligence units (FIUs) that share financial intelligence through a secure system. FIUs are the operational channel...
- FATF
- The Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body founded in 1989 by the G7 that sets global standards for anti-money laundering and...
- Grey List
- The FATF Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring list, identifying countries with strategic deficiencies that have committed to a remediation action plan. Inclusion increases...
- Mutual Evaluation
- A peer review of a country's AML and CTF system by a team of experts from other FATF members, assessing both technical...