EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism

The European Commission established the “Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)” to provide support to partner countries to strengthen their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks in compliance with the AML/CFT international standards.

The overal objective of the project is to support partner countries in their efforts to prevent money laundering and cut off access to funding for individual terrorists and terrorist organisations, in line with the EU framework on AML/CFT, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations and relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

The project also aims to encourage cooperation between financial regulators, law enforcement, justice actors and civil society at national, regional and international levels.

The EU Global Facility offers various forms of technical assistance tailored to the partner countries’ needs, on a demand-driven basis and in response to emerging threats. It can potentially operate in any country of the world covered by EU external actions.

The project is centred around three separate yet intertwined pillars, covering all stages and actors of the financial investigation and penal chain which aim to:

1. Support countries in having AML/CFT frameworks that comply with international standards (FATF, EU, UN).
2. Increase AML/CFT institutional and technical capacity in partner countries (including national coordination).
3. Enhance regional and international cooperation in the field of AML/CFT.

By supporting partner countries’ efforts to operate more efficient and effective AML/CFT systems and participate in an interconnected AML/CFT global network, the project reinforces European measures aimed at protecting the EU’s financial system. This leads to reduced financial flows from the informal economy and from organised crime to terrorist organisations, hindered use of serious organised crime proceeds and improved asset recovery mechanisms

Any country requiring technical assistance can formulate a request through their local EU Delegation or via the European Commission. Requests are then assessed by the European Commission, with a priority being given to countries listed (or close to being listed) by the EU and/or the FATF for their AML/CFT strategic deficiencies

The project is implemented by Expertise France in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).