Money laundering and terrorist financing risks

Publication details

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English

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Topic

One of the key requirements of the FATF Recommendations is for countries, to identify, assess and understand the money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risks that they are exposed to. Once these risks are properly understood, countries will be able to implement anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing measures that mitigate these risks.

This risk-based approach, is central to the effective implementation of the FATF Standards and also applies to financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions.

Many countries have chosen to publish information about the ML/TF risks to their financial system in the form of a national money laundering and terrorist financing risks assessment.  The publication of such a national risk assessment is not a mandatory requirement of the FATF Standards.  However, sharing this information will increase global understanding of ML/TF risk and may help countries identify, assess and understand where their own vulnerabilities lie.

Each country can determine how it will assess these risks. To assist countries in this process, the FATF has developed Guidelines that explain the general principles and steps involved in a risk assessment. The practices described in these Guidelines serve as examples and do not constitute specific measures that a country must take.

Whatever approach a country chooses to identify, assess and understand the risks to its financial system, the FATF will assess the extent to which it has been able to do so in its peer reviews.  These reviews are based on the FATF Methodology for assessing technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations and evaluators will closely examine a country's risk assessment when evaluating recommendation 1 and immediate outcome 1.

Here are some examples of risk assessments published at national and regional level:

National risk assessments

Armenia

 

National Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk in the Republic of Armenia - 2014

Australia

 Australia’s non-profit organisation sector: money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessment - 2017 Terrorism Financing in Australia - 2014
Money Laundering in Australia - 2011

Austria

 Nationale Risikoanalyse Österreich - 2015 [in German only]

Bahamas

 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Summary 2015 / 2016

Bangladesh

 National Risk Assessment Report - 2016

Belarus

 

National Risk Assessment - Summary - 2014-2017

Bermuda

 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk

Bhutan

 National Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Risk Assessment - 2017
Canada

 

Assessment of Inherent Risks of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Canada - July 2015
Tendances et analyse des risques en 2014 [in French only]

Cambodia 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report - 2018

Cayman Islands 

Cayman Islands National Risk Assessment Relating to Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing - 2015

Chile 

National Evaluation of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks

Chinese Taipei 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report - 2018

Colombia 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk

Cook Islands 

Cook Islands National Money-Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment 

Croatia 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report - 2016 [in Croat only]

Cyprus 

National Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks - 2018

Czech Republic 

Report on the First Round of National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment - December 2016

Denmark 

Money Laundering in Denmark - National Risk Assessment 2015
Money Laundering in Denmark - National Risk Assessment - 2018
National Risk Assessment on Terrorist Financing in Denmark - 2019

Dominican Republic 

Summary of National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, 2010-2014 [Spanish]

Fiji 

Fiji Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism National Risk Assessment - 2014

Finland 

National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - 2015 [in Finnish only]

France

 

Tendances et analyse des risques de blanchiment de capitaux et de financement du terrorisme en 2017-2018 [French only]

Germany 

National risk assessment of Germany, 2018-2019 [Germany only]
National risk assessment of Germany, 2018-2019

Ghana 

National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Gibraltar 

Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment - 2018

Greece  

Money Laundering Risk Assessment - October 2018

Hong Kong, China 

Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report - 2018

Indonesia 

Indonesia National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering - 2015

Ireland 

National Risk Assessment for Ireland - 2016

Isle of Man 

National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism - 2015

Israel 

National Risk Assessment on Terror Financing - 2017

Italy

 

National Assessment of Money-Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks - 2014
National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing - 2018

Japan 

National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing – 2019
National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing – 2018
National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing – 2017

Jersey 

Money Laundering Typologies and Trends - 2015
National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering

Kyrgyzstan 

National Risk Assessment

Latvia 

Latvian National money laundering/terrorism financing risk assessment report - 2017

Liechtenstein 

Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment Report - 2018

Lithuania 

Lithuanian National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - 2015

Luxembourg 

Évaluation nationale des risques en matière de blanchiment de capitaux et de financement du terrorisme - 2018
National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing - 2018

Malawi 

Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment Report - 2018

Malaysia 

National Money Laundering & Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment - 2017

Malta 

National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism - 2018

Mexico 

Evaluación Nacional de Riesgos De Lavado de Dinero y Financiamiento Al Terrorismo en México - 2016

Monaco 

L'Evaluation nationale des risques de la Principauté de Monaco - 2016/2017

Mongolia 

National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism - 2016 

Montenegro 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report

Myanmar 

National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism - 2018

Netherlands 

National Risk Assessment on Terrorist Financing - English Summary - 2017
National Risk Assessment Money Laundering report
National Risk Assessment Terrorist Financing report

New Zealand 

National Risk Assessment - 2010
Sector Risk Assessment - 2011
Sector Risk Assessment for Registered Banks, Non-Bank Deposit Takers and Live Insurers - 2017
Financial Intelligence Unit - National Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment - 2018

Nigeria 

Nigeria National Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment - 2016
Nigeria National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering & Terrorism Financing - 2016

Panama 

Evaluacion nacional de riesgos de blanqueo de capitales y financiamiento al terrorismo de Panama [in Spanish only]

Papua New Guinea 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment - 2017

Peru 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment - 2016

Philippines 

National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing - 2016

Portugal 

Avaliação nacional de riscos de branqueamento de capitais e de financiamento do terrorismo - 2015 [in Portuguese only]

Russian Federation

 

National Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment 2017-2018

San Marino

 

National Risk Assessment - 2015

Serbia

 

National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering in the Republic of Serbia

Seychelles

 National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk - 2017
Singapore

 Singapore National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report - 2013
Slovak Republic 

National Assessment of the Risk of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Slovak Republic

Spain 

National Risk Assessment of Spain - 2020

Sri Lanka 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment of Sri Lanka 2014

Sweden 

2021 National Risk Assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing, including a sector-by-sector analysis

2019 National Risk Assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing

Switzerland 

Rapport sur l’évaluation nationale des risques de blanchiment d’argent et de financement du terrorisme en Suisse - 2015
Bericht über die nationale Beurteilung der Geldwäschereiund Terrorismusfinanzierungsrisiken in der Schweiz
Report on the national evaluation of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing in Switzerland - 2015

Tajikistan 

In Tajik only

Tanzania 

National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report - 2016

Timor Leste 

National Risk Assessment 2016-2020 [in Portuguese only]

Tunisia

 National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, Executive Summary - 2017
Uganda National Risk Assessment of Uganda - 2017

Ukraine

 

National Risk Assessment Report on Preventing and Countering Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism - 2016

 

United Kingdom 

UK National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing – 2015 
UK National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing  2017
UK National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing - 2020
UK National risk assessment of proliferation financing - 2021

United States 

National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing - 2020
National Money Laundering Risk Assessment - 2015
National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment - 2015
US National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment - 2018
National Money Laundering Risk Assessment - 2018
National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment - 2018
2022 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment
2022 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment
2022 National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment

Uruguay 

National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - 2014

Vanuatu 

Vanuatu Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism National Risk Assessment - 2015

Zimbabwe 

Summary of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism National Risk Assessment of Zimbabwe - 2015

 

Regional or supranational risk assessments

Other relevant information

FATF conducts typologies studies which essentially represent ML/TF assessments of a narrower scope, such as on particular threats or vulnerabilities

FATF issues new Mechanism to Strengthen Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Compliance

Mutual Evaluations