VIENNA, Austria–The World Council of Credit Unions has asked the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to provide clearer anti-money laundering/countering rules related to the financing of terrorism.
WOCCU made the request during the FATF’s Private Sector Consultative Forum here. The FATF held its Private Sector Consultative Forum at the offices of the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime at the UN’s Vienna International Centre. The FATF, which is based in Paris, is the global standard setting body for AML/CFT rules.
According to WOCCU, the FATF consultative meeting included discussion on a wide range of issues, including obstacles to information sharing about suspicious activities between different financial institutions and how AML/CFT rules should be revised with respect to new financial technologies. Other topics discussed included implementation of the FATF’s recent guidance on correspondent banking issued in October 2016, financial inclusion of unbanked persons, legal entity beneficial ownership, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist financing, and remittances, WOCCU said.
“World Council believes that the FATF’s efforts to clarify its guidance, especially with respect to information sharing and financial technology, will help reduce AML/CFT compliance burdens on credit unions and other cooperative financial institutions,” said Michael Edwards, vice president and general counsel of World Council, who represented the global credit union movement at the FATF forum.
WOCCU noted the FATF is likely to issue updated guidance on AML/CFT information sharing best practices this summer.
Michael Edwards, World Council’s vice president and general counsel, at the UN’s Vienna offices.