| The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has enjoyed a remarkable amount of success in raising awareness about money laundering and terrorist financing and inducing states around the world to commit to countering these serious threats to international security. The steps that developing countries have taken to comply with FATF recommendations, which have involved legal and bureaucratic measures necessary but not sufficient to create an effective AML/CFT regime, have led many to believe that these countries are doing a better job protecting against money laundering and terrorist financing than they are in reality. A closer examination of what has actually been done by developing countries to prevent these crimes, as demonstrated in this paper using case studies of eight countries, reveals that many states lack the effective oversight and supervisory systems necessary to ensure that their domestic institutions have robust controls in place. Without sufficient oversight and enforcement efforts on the part of developing countries, money laundering and terrorist financing will remain pervasive across these jurisdictions. This misunderstanding may be causing many involved in the international financial system to let their guard down with respect to the threat of illicit financial crime, increasing the potential for abuse by money launderers and terrorist financiers across the globe. These circumstances highlight a number of actions that policy makers can take to address the problems faced by developing countries. |
