FATF mandate renewed for further eight years

Paris -- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental task force focused on financial crime and money laundering, had its mandate renewed for another eight years by its members at a mid-May meeting. The FATF's leadership also outlined several projects it would be undertaking in the coming 12-18 months.

To begin with, the FATF plans to enhance its focus on informal and non-traditional methods of terrorist financing and money laundering, now that the formal financial system is becoming increasingly closed to illegal activity. "The topic of cash couriers is being considered for further examination by the FATF," says Patrick Moulette, executive secretary at the FATF in Paris. "Cash couriers have been identified as a method of transporting illicit monies for both money laundering and terrorist