According to the FATF, it is essential to combat the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Mexican Elisa De Anda Madrazo gave her first public speech as president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) against money laundering and terrorist financing and indicated that one of her priorities in her mandate will be to advance financial inclusion worldwide, since the widespread use of cash, as well as unregulated financial channels, increases the risk of money laundering.

In a recording broadcast on FATF channels, De Anda Madrazo indicated that his mandate at the head of the international organization will be guided by the principles of inclusion, diversity and transparency, for which he asked the members of the group for active participation, as well as greater communication.

“The widespread use of cash and unregulated (financial) channels increases the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. Consequently, it is within our mandate to advance financial inclusion,” said the official from the Mexican Ministry of Finance.

According to data from the World Bank, it is estimated that seven out of every 10 adults in the world have a financial account; However, in certain countries such as Mexico, where 49% of adults are financially included, formal coverage is lower.

Given this scenario, De Anda Madrazo indicated that during his mandate a proportional application of measures against money laundering and terrorist financing will be sought, through the review of the standards suggested by the organization and an updated guide on inclusion will be published. in order to encourage the use of simplified due diligence measures in low-risk situations.

“We will strengthen our training, both for jurisdictions and for evaluators. “We want to ensure that evaluators appropriately focus on whether supervisors have moved from a rules-based approach to a risk-based approach,” the FATF president detailed.

PRIORITY TOPICS

The Mexican emphasized the areas in which she will focus her work as president of the FATF, such as asset recovery, the final beneficiary, as well as virtual assets. “I call them the triangle. “We will work to consolidate these recent challenges.”

On repeated occasions, the official has highlighted the importance of the work of asset recovery in the fight against illicit finances, since FATF estimates show that only 1% of criminal resources are recovered in favor of the victims.

“The truth is that (the fight) is not only about interrupting crime, having justice so that criminals end up in jail or having their resources taken away, but it has to do with compensating the victims of crime,” the Mexican said in a recent forum.

De Anda Madrazo highlighted that another of his priorities is a successful start of the fifth round of evaluations of its nearly 40 members, which will focus on the risks and contexts of the countries evaluated, as well as the effectiveness of the regimes of the countries. countries to combat illicit finance.

The Mexican official highlighted greater work in strengthening the reach of the FATF, since although 40 jurisdictions are members of the organization, its global network has an impact on more than 200.

Another priority will be to combat the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, so it will work to increase and update the understanding of these evils for a more effective attack.