The 13th Public Edition of the Basel AML Index highlights a gradual improvement in national systems to counter money laundering – at least in terms of technical compliance with global standards, and among countries with long-standing weaknesses. But the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems in practice remains alarmingly low in the face of evolving threats from fraud and other complex, often transnational financial crimes.

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Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú albergan algunos de los bosques más importantes del mundo, y la madera constituye un recurso natural de gran valor. Proteger estos bosques frente a las amenazas que representa la corrupción es fundamental no solo para preservar la biodiversidad y mitigar el cambio climático, sino también para salvaguardar los medios de vida de las comunidades locales.

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Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru are home to some of the world’s most important forests, and timber is a valuable natural resource. Protecting forests from threats posed by corruption is essential not only for protecting biodiversity and mitigating climate change, but also for protecting the livelihoods of local communities.

Guernsey has confiscated nearly half a million dollars in criminal proceeds on behalf of Colombia in the Latin American country’s first successful international asset recovery case using its non-conviction based forfeiture law.

Few disagree that asset recovery plays an important role in the fight against crime – but recovering assets in practice means balancing complex priorities and issues around justice, legality and human rights.

The Basel AML Index – the Basel Institute’s ranking and risk assessment tool for money laundering risks around the world – will include indicators of fraud in its 2024 methodology update.

The changes reflect the growing significance of fraud as a predicate offence to money laundering and as a risk that regulated entities need to consider. Though definitions of fraud vary and data is both poor and inconsistent, the social and economic consequences of fraud make it impossible to ignore in any money laundering risk assessment.