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Financial Action Task Force, US Treasury
The Financial Action Task Force – the intergovernmental group tackling money laundering – has pushed forward work on handling virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies, openness about beneficial ownership, and risks stemming from illicit finance.

The FATF this week wrapped up its latest plenary session held in online format, the sixth time it has done so since the pandemic broke out. The organization gave the green light to publish an updated version of its Guidance on a Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers. The guidance is intended to help jurisdictions and the private sector to implement the FATF’s standards on the virtual assets sector, which were revised in 2018. Details were published by the US Department of the Treasury yesterday.

The DoT report said the FATF has approved the start of a study of illicit funds generated by the opioids sector that has been blamed for thousands of deaths via overdoses.

The FATF’s Virtual Assets Contact Group, the body that undertook this revision and which is co-chaired by the US and Japan, will now focus its efforts on promoting how standards are put into action.

“The United States welcomes the significant work by the FATF to enhance beneficial ownership transparency and provide clear standards and guidance for the virtual asset industry,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet L Yellen, said. “The FATF’s work will continue to strengthen global action against illicit finance.”

The FATF has proposed changes to improve the quality of beneficial ownership information available to law enforcement and other authorities in a timely manner, help international cooperation, and improve transparency on public procurement to combat corruption. 

Jurisdictions around the world, both onshore and offshore, are under pressure to disclose beneficial ownership data to prevent bad actors stashing ill-gotten gains or evading taxes. The issue is complicated because some industry figures say public registers of such ownership, if not accompanied by regulations, compromise legitimate financial privacy.

On other matters, the FATF reaffirmed UN Security Council resolutions that governments must co-operate on foiling illicit financial flows linked to Afghanistan