Episode 24: Can the Financial Action Taskforce Turn Standards into Results?

Few institutions have as much influence over the global response to money laundering and terrorist financing as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). But the value of its standards ultimately depends on whether they produce meaningful change.

In this episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Elisa de Anda Madrazo, who has just completed her two-year term as FATF President, having previously served as its Vice-President.

Reflecting on her presidency, Elisa discusses the transition to a more demanding round of country evaluations, the importance of prioritising effectiveness over formal compliance, and why financial inclusion and financial integrity must reinforce one another.

The conversation also examines the unintended consequences and misuse of FATF standards, the need to listen to regional bodies and lower-capacity jurisdictions, and the continuing challenge of turning international cooperation into successful asset recovery.

Looking ahead, Elisa argues that the FATF must remain humble, resist the instinct to equate improvement with greater complexity, and demonstrate its impact through practical outcomes: more crime prevented, more criminal assets recovered, and more money returned to victims.

• UK FATF Mutual Evaluation Taskforce: Second Meeting Report
• FATF Greylisting and Financial Inclusion
• Recording: FATF Greylisting and Financial Inclusion
• Recording: Women in Anti-Financial Crime: Inspiring the Next Generation