Methodology for Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations and FATF 9 Special Recommendations

Printable versions of the Methodology

Background to Methodology

1. The Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) Methodology 2004, including the assessment criteria, is designed to guide the assessment of a country’s compliance with the international AML/CFT standards as contained in the FATF Forty Recommendations 2003 and the FATF Nine Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing 2001 (referred to jointly as the FATF Recommendations). The criteria within this Methodology do not expand upon or modify the Forty Recommendations and Nine Recommendations which constitute the international standard. The Methodology is a key tool to assist assessors when they are preparing AML/CFT detailed assessment reports/mutual evaluation reports. It will assist them in identifying the systems and mechanisms developed by countries with diverse legal, regulatory and financial frameworks, in order to implement robust AML/CFT systems. The Methodology is also useful for countries that are reviewing their own systems, including in relation to technical assistance projects.

2. It reflects the principles set out in the FATF Recommendations. It is also informed by the experience of the FATF and the FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs) from their mutual evaluations, of the International Monetary Fund (the Fund) and the World Bank (the Bank) in the Financial Sector Assessment Program and by the Fund from the Offshore Financial Center assessment program. The FATF, the Fund and the Bank have also reviewed the assessments/mutual evaluations conducted in 2002 and 2003 using the AML/CFT Methodology issued in October 2002, and these reviews have also provided guidance in developing this Methodology.

Print versions

Methodology for Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations and the FATF 9 Special Recommendations (27 February 2004, updated as of June 2006)

Méthodologie d'évaluation de la conformité aux 40 Recommandations et aux 9 Recommandations Spéciales (27 février 2004, mise à jour octobre 2005)

Methodology for Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations and the FATF 8 Special Recommendations (27 February 2004)


Methodology Glossary [Source: Methodology for Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations and the FATF 8 Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing, 27 February 2004]