New Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President Elisa de Anda Madrazo recently addressed the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at their meeting in Brazil. In one of her first comments as President she declared that financial inclusion will be one of her main areas of focus when delivering FTAF’s new strategic priorities. She noted securing financial integrity is not a trade-off with financial inclusion. She emphasized FATF is working diligently to prevent money laundering activity while maintaining access for clean funds to move through the regulated financial system. Excluding people from the financial system will increase inequalities and push them to unregulated options, increasing overall risks.

To meet their mandate FATF is reinforcing the need to apply a risk-based approach when designing financial integrity measures. This includes the use of simplified due diligence methods. FATF is also contributing to the G20’s roadmap on cross-border payments and updating the related standards. The President also noted the need for FATF to support low-capacity countries that have unique challenges. The support will include developing new guidance on combating illicit finance, partnering with technical assistance providers to help build effective frameworks and supporting jurisdictions as they implement regulations for virtual asset service providers.   

Ms. Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico will serve as the new President of FATF from July 1, 2024 to June 30 2026, she succeeded Mr. T. Raja Kumar of Singapore.

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