Money laundering, fight against

Money laundering is a criminal activity that refers to the process of concealing the origins of illegally obtained funds by making them appear legitimate. The importance of money laundering has grown over time due to its crucial role in enabling criminals to enjoy the proceeds of their illegal activities without raising suspicion. International cooperation to prevent and tackle money laundering has produced a remarkable cascade of international rule­making since the late 1980s. After 9/11, this process intensified as many States assumed links between illicit funds and terrorism, broadening efforts to curtail related financial flows both lawful and unlawful. As a result of a broad political consensus and synergies between global, regional, and national institutions, an exceptional normative production of international norms, mainly in the form of → treaties of ever greater scope, and → soft law and policies produced within the ambit of the Financial Action Task Force (‘FATF’), took place. Along with criminal law measures, these international instruments prescribe wide-ranging preventive measures to stop proceeds from being moved through the formal financial system, including imposing a web of onerous regulatory obligations on financial institutions and other designated private actors. The acts and efforts of international institutions and bodies such as the United Nations Security Council (→ United Nations, Security Council; ‘UNSC’) and various international financial institutions (→ Financial Institutions, International) have significantly contributed to expanding the influence of the FATF soft law. The main challenge today is to ensure → compliance with the existing normative framework, and its → effectiveness.