Financial Action Task Force Recommendations: Relevance & Application within Public & Private Sector Contexts
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Emery Kobor
United States Department of the Treasury
Maria Stephens (Facilitator)
United States Agency for International Development
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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an independent inter-governmental body recognized by the G-20, the UN, the World Bank, and International Monetary Fund as the international standard-setting body for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) safeguards. The FATF and a global network of FATF-style regional bodies conduct periodic peer reviews to ensure adequate global implementation of the FATF Recommendations. Recently, the FATF has completed a revision of its 40 recommendations. Mr Kobor will discuss these recommendations as well as how AML/CFT safeguards can be compatible with financial inclusion initiatives.
Presenter Bio:
Emery Kobor is the assistant director for strategic policy in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Kobor and his staff work with the public and private sectors globally to identify and address the weaknesses in the financial system that create opportunities for criminals. He has led a number of U.S. and multinational project teams, including the U.S. government working group that produced the first U.S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment. Prior to joining the Department of the Treasury, Kobor worked as a consultant advising corporate treasurers on payment and risk management strategies and was a senior research analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Payments Studies Group. Kobor has an MBA in finance from George Washington University and received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University.
Maria Stephens is a Senior Technical Adviser with the U.S. Agency for International Development and subject matter expert in emerging payment systems risk and regulatory issues with over 18 years’ experience in microfinance and financial economics. While a Financial Economist at the U.S. Treasury Department, Ms. Stephens was selected to participate in the development of policy and regulatory position papers focusing on derivatives and other related financial products and services. From 2007-2009, Ms. Stephens provided long-term technical support to the Central Bank of China and GTZ to establish the People’s Republic of China’s first private-sector microcredit company. She is a primary author of the USAID-Booz Allen Hamilton Mobile Financial Services Matrix and related mobile financial services risk mitigation tools and documents, and continues to lead in the development of USAID’s emerging payment systems policy and regulatory agenda. Ms. Stephens holds a B.A. (Hons) in Greek, Latin, and Old Irish from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a M.A. in International Economics, American Foreign Policy and Mandarin Chinese from Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.
Presenter will address the following questions:
1. In your opinion, what is the relationship between the issues raised by and through FATF, and the broader development goal of promoting good governance and civil society? How might the two sets of objectives complement one another?
2. How best can a developing country meet the possible cost burden (financial and political) of establishing an effective AML-CFT monitoring and compliance regime alongside other competing public sector demands? Is there a role for the international development community in this regard?
3. How far can current FATF guidelines 'reach down' to make compliance less burdensome for some developing countries before any such modified guidelines become irrelevant (i.e., minimizing data collection processes and simplifying identification procedures.)
4. How might FIUs be harmonized across a multi-country context, such as the nascent East African Community platform, given the varying levels of capacity and different underlying legal systems existing within individual country FIUs?
5. Do you see a role for developing countries which may not be FATF members and associate members in influencing the current and future direction of global FATF guidelines and implementation policy? If so, what might that role look like?
6. Much of the current FATF guidance relates to institutions which are regulated by financial and other supervisory bodies within their respective national context and, in the case of financial institutions, by overarching global standards, such as those promulgated by CSPP, BIS, and Basel. How are the current FATF guidelines applied to institutions such as non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) which are not linked directly to such regulatory regimes? In this latter context, how might compliance with international enforcement policies and procedures be compromised? For example, if an ongoing investigation in Country X requires access to financial and other records from NBFIs in Country Y, but there is no reporting requirement that requires giving access of such information as there might be when requesting from a regulated financial entity, does the participation of NBFIs in such a scenario pose unique challenges to the optimal application of FATF guidance? If so, how might these challenges be addressed and obviated?
7. What are the economic and political implications of FATF's calling on member countries to take "counter measures" against the country that, despite an extended period of intense engagement, has refused to take any meaningful corrective action to meet FATF recommendations?
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