On the Sasha exchange site, we talked about the anti-money laundering laws in Iran, and now it’s time to provide you with information about the International Anti-Money Laundering Federation or FATF. If you want to get information in this field, stay with Sasha Exchange at the end of the article and do not deprive yourself of reading this article.
International Anti-Money Laundering Federation (FATF)
There is an intergovernmental cooperation organization that was formed with the aim of combating money laundering. One of the basic and main goals of this organization is to fight against all kinds of illegal activities that have affected the economic sector of countries.
Currently, FATF includes 37 countries and 2 international organizations, and all the members of this organization include countries that are considered important financial centers of the world. The FATF has a 40-article code that covers all aspects of combating money laundering.
From the early days of this association, it was clear and obvious that its member countries have a series of financial and legal systems that are different from each other, and on the other hand, they cannot have the same and equal criteria and rules, and to fight against any type of money laundering Take action.
General format of the FATF guidelines
The duty of the country’s legal system against money laundering
Article 1. All countries should act as soon as possible to ratify and fully implement the 1988 United Nations Convention (Vienna Convention) on Combating Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs.
Article 2. Laws and regulations of financial institutions should not prevent the implementation of the aforementioned guidelines.
Article 3. It is necessary to implement the executive plan to combat money laundering, which includes increasing multilateral cooperation and bilateral legal protections in the investigation and tracking of money laundering and the delivery of criminals to the country of origin.
The scope of criminal behavior of money launderers
Article 4. Every country should take measures to make money laundering or money laundering in that country a criminal act according to the provisions of the Vienna Convention.
Article 5. As stated in the Vienna Convention, at least the activities that constitute the crime of money laundering or money laundering should be recognized.
Article 6. If possible, the employees of the companies and institutions, in addition to these centers, should also be prosecuted.
Temporary action, confiscation
Article 7. Countries should adapt their laws and recognized standards of money laundering behavior to the provisions of the Vienna Convention. These criteria include laws that allow competent authorities to confiscate laundered assets without prejudice to the rights of third parties. These laws include the granting of powers for the following:
1. Identifying, tracking and evaluating the assets to be confiscated.
2. Taking temporary measures such as blocking assets and confiscating them in order to prevent smuggling, transfer and possession of such assets.
3. Conducting any inspection and inspection that is necessary.
In addition to the confiscation of assets and prosecution, countries should also consider monetary and civil penalties for them and follow procedures that reduce criminality in those sectors through seizure and confiscation of property or a set of policies. Eliminate incentives and punishments.
The role of the financial system in fighting money laundering
Article 8. Articles 10 to 29 of this directive shall not only apply to banks, but also to non-banking financial institutions, even to non-banking financial institutions that are not subject to a formal regulatory regime. Governments should ensure that such institutions are subject to anti-money laundering regulations or other similar laws.
Article 9. Relevant competent authorities are required to apply Articles 10 to 21 and Article 23 of the aforementioned circular regarding the financial behavior of economic enterprises and non-financial institutions, regardless of whether they are authorized to conduct financial affairs or not. It is left to the countries themselves to define specific measures to combat money laundering in specific circumstances. For example: financial activities that are done occasionally and in a limited amount.
Rules for customer identification and storage of registered information
Article 10. Financial institutions should not open anonymous or fake accounts. Financial institutions must be required to identify individuals through other valid documents and provide the identity of their customers during business communications or making transfers, especially when opening a current or savings account, transferring remittances, renting safe deposit boxes, as well as . Registering cash transfers in large amounts.
Financial institutions must do the following to authenticate legal entities:
a. To verify the identity of customers, legal authorities or the customer himself or both should be used. The company’s registration documents include information related to the customer’s name, legal license, address, names of managers and office holders, and the authority in the said institution is necessary for authentication.
b. In addition, the identity of those who claim that they are responsible for doing financial affairs on behalf of the client must also be verified.
Article 11. Financial institutions must take reasonable steps to obtain information about the true identity of persons who are authorized to open accounts or make transfers on behalf of the institution, so that there is no doubt that these persons are in fact “from designated legal institutions.” are Opening accounts and conducting financial affairs, especially for companies and trusts whose business affairs and transactions are not related to their business.
Article 12. Financial institutions must keep at least five years of information related to financial transfers at the domestic and international level in order to be able to quickly respond to the request of competent authorities for information. This information should be enough to prosecute criminals.
Financial institutions must keep a copy of the customer’s identification documents. These documents include passport, ID card, driver’s license or similar documents.
Records of accounts and related financial activities must also be kept for at least five years after the account is closed. These documents must be available to the relevant domestic authorities so that the authorities can search and prosecute the criminals based on them.
Article 13. Countries should be aware of money laundering through emerging tools and technologies that make criminals anonymous and, if necessary, take the necessary measures to prevent criminals’ money laundering schemes.
Continuous efforts of financial institutions to fight money laundering
Article 14. Financial institutions should be aware of transfers that are unusually high in volume and using complex methods. The origin and destination of such transfers should be investigated as far as possible and suspicious materials should be recorded and made available to the inspectors of legal institutions.
Article 15. If financial institutions suspect that the source of the funds is from criminal activity, they must immediately report the suspicious cases to the competent authorities.
Article 16. By adopting appropriate legal measures, financial institutions, including their managers and employees, must be protected against the threat of criminals so that there is no limit to the disclosure of information related to the activities of criminals.
Article 17. Financial institutions, their managers and employees should not inform customers that their information is reported to competent authorities.
Article 18. Financial institutions must develop their programs to combat money laundering. At least these programs are:
a) developing internal policies, procedures and controls, including designing procedures that clarify the performance of managers and the behavior of employees when employed by criminals;
b) Continuous training program for employees
c) Establishing inspection processes that test the system.
Necessary measures when dealing with countries that do not have or have inadequate anti-money laundering laws.
Article 20. Financial institutions must undertake to implement the principles mentioned above in their branches and subsidiaries and abroad, especially in countries that do not apply anti-money laundering laws or that the laws applied in them are insufficient. , as far as local laws allow, apply. When local laws and regulations do not allow the application of anti-money laundering rules to branches and subsidiaries, the competent authorities in the country of the parent institution should be notified by financial institutions that cannot apply FATF guidelines.
Article 21. Financial institutions should pay special attention to relations and business transactions with individuals, companies and financial institutions of countries that either do not apply anti-money laundering obligations or their actions are insufficient in combating money laundering. Whenever the economic objectives of the financial behavior of individuals and companies in such countries are not known, the history of these individuals and companies should be reported as soon as possible to assist legal investigators.
Other anti-money laundering measures
Article 22. Countries should have appropriate practical and executive measures to detect or monitor cross-border transfers of cash and bearer checks, which can be converted into cash, and strict security measures for the transfer of money and capital without restricting the freedom of capital transfer. Ramkhdoosh to have.
Article 23. Countries should create an efficient and appropriate system that banks and other institutions and financial intermediaries, all financial transfers, whether of national currency or foreign currencies that are made above a certain ceiling, to a specific national center that is based on Computer information is equipped, report. This center should be available to competent authorities to be used in the fight against money laundering.
Article 24. Countries should generally put more use of modern and safe money management techniques on their agenda. These techniques include increasing the use of checks, payment cards, opening an independent account to pay employee salary checks, and registering documents and guarantees in a special office. The above tools are used to replace cash transfers.
Article 25. Countries should be aware of the potential abuse of Shell Corporation by money launderers and should take additional measures to prevent money laundering if necessary.
The use and role of administrative and regulatory organizations in anti-money laundering operations
Article 26. Competent authorities supervising the conduct of banks and other institutions and financial intermediaries or other competent authorities must ensure that the institutions under their supervision implement anti-money laundering programs sufficiently in their institutions. These officials should conduct inspections and investigations related to money laundering with the cooperation of people and public reports or at the request of domestic legal authorities in their country.
Article 27. Competent authorities must provide a mechanism to ensure the implementation of all the articles of this directive. This mechanism especially includes the establishment of necessary laws and regulations to monitor cash transfers in all businesses.
Article 28. Competent authorities must establish diagnostic criteria that help to discover the suspicious behavior of customers of financial institutions. Obviously, these diagnostic criteria should change over time as necessary. In addition, the mentioned criteria of diagnosis should be taught to the employees of financial institutions.
Article 29. Competent authorities supervising financial institutions must use the cooperation of criminals and financial institutions for money laundering.
Strict measures on the international cooperation of financial institutions
Article 30. Governments must record the minimum total amount of international cash transfers (multi-currency) so that it can be used to estimate international cash transfers as well as their origin. This information is combined with the information of the central bank and all of them are provided to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements to conduct international transactions.
Article 31. Competent international authorities, such as the International Police and the World Customs Organization, should feel responsible for collecting and disseminating information on the latest developments in money laundering and its techniques for the use of relevant local authorities.
Central banks and banking supervisors should do the same for their internal network. The officials of the countries should also consult with the trade association, discover the latest methods and techniques of money laundering and report to the financial institutions of the countries.
Article 32. Every country should strive to improve the exchange and send international information (spontaneous or upon request) regarding the suspicious exchanges of the persons and companies in question to the competent authorities. Strict regulations should also be adopted to ensure that the exchange of such information is compatible with national and international arrangements for confidentiality and protection of confidential information.
Basics and means of cooperation in the field of confiscation of property, mutual aid and delivery of criminals to the country of origin.
Article 33. Countries should strive to ensure that differences in national standards do not negatively affect the ability or willingness of countries to provide mutual legal assistance.
Article 34. The international cooperation of countries should be supported by a network of bilateral or multilateral agreements and arrangements based on common legal concepts in order to create effective tools and criteria for the widest range of bilateral assistance.
Article 35. States should be encouraged to adopt and apply the provisions of international money laundering conventions such as the Council of Europe Convention on Money Laundering, Investigation, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime in 1990.
Focus on increasing mutual assistance on money laundering related articles
Article 36. The cooperation of the competent authorities of the countries regarding the inspection and investigation of money laundering should be encouraged. An effective and powerful inspection method in this field is to monitor the transfer of known or suspected assets resulting from the behavior of criminals. Countries should encourage this method as long as possible.
Article 37. Procedures should be established to cover mutual assistance in criminal matters. The financial institutions of the countries should be obliged to prepare reports and send them to foreign judicial authorities regarding the investigation and investigation of natural and legal persons, confiscation and confiscation of assets, obtaining inspection documents and prosecution of money laundering and other cases in this regard.
Article 38. Countries should respond immediately and appropriately to the requests of other countries in the field of identifying criminals, blocking and confiscating their assets that are related to money laundering behaviors. In addition, member countries must have appropriate regulations and arrangements for confiscation and confiscation of proceeds from money laundering.
Article 39. In order to prevent judicial conflicts, appropriate measures and mechanisms should be applied to determine the best legal place to prosecute the accused in cases where criminals and money launderers are prosecuted in more than one country. Likewise, arrangements should be made to seize and confiscate the property of criminals.
Article 40. Countries should adopt procedures related to money laundering crimes to extradite criminals to the country of origin as much as possible. According to the domestic legal system of the countries, every country should include the crime of money laundering in the category of extraditable crimes.
According to the legal system of the countries, the member states should simplify the conditions for the extradition of the mentioned criminals and, upon the request of the relevant ministers, hand over the criminals to the country of origin.