Combatting of Money Laundering & Terrorism: Still High on International Agenda

The International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held its seventh meeting in Washington, D.C. last week.

The Committee welcomed the actions by members to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and noted the progress made on the 12-month pilot program of AML/CFT assessments. (See link below for interim report). The meetings underscored the importance of continued close cooperation on a global basis to complete the pilot successfully, and of further enhancing the delivery of critically needed technical assistance.

As part of the official Communique (see below) coming out of the Washington meetings, the Committee encouraged all members to adopt AML/CFT laws and practices consistent with the agreed international standards.

During the course of the meetings, US Treasury Secretary John Snow addressed the Committee, welcoming the opportunity to review recent developments and to discuss efforts to promote global growth and stability.

The Secretary made particular reference to the international fight against terrorism financing. He said, *”We have made significant strides in the fight against the financing of terrorism since we last met. But the war against terrorism financing is far from won. We must avoid complacency, maintain focus, and keep our financial institutions and systems safe from abuse by terrorists.”*

The Treasury Official commented on the IMF/World Bank/FATF pilot project to assess country performance. He expressed the view that this assessment programme should become a permanent part of surveillance and oversight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

These issues also featured high on the agenda when Secretary Snow also met with the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors last week. The meetings focused on developments in the world economy and the challenges facing the international community. Terrorism financing continues as a key priority, and meeting participants all reiterated their commitment *”to keep financial institutions and systems safe from abuse by terrorists”*.