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.

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.

We live in a world where global value flows are becoming more complex, with cryptocurrencies playing a significant role in moving funds. From the perspective of banks and other financial institutions, how can we address crypto-related financial crime risks and create thoughtful regulatory policy without hindering innovation?

Is financial crime really a security threat, as an increasing number of countries and experts now say? If so, in what sense? And what implications might that have for our efforts to fight it?

The issues around framing financial crime as a threat to national and international security were a key topic on the agenda of the first international Summit of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (GCFFC) in Stockholm, Sweden, on 10–11 September 2024.

Registration is now open for the 8th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies (#8CrC). This year's conference is co-organised by Europol and the Basel Institute on Governance and will be hosted by UNODC at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

You can register here.