The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established in 1989, is an inter-governmental policymaking body that publishes a set of 40 recommendations that constitute international standards for combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The 2012 FATF Recommendations cover Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs), which include lawyers. Lawyers are required to fulfil the customer due diligence (CDD) and record-keeping requirements set out in Recommendations 10, 11, 12, 15, and 17. They fall under this obligation if they prepare or carry out any of the following transactions for their clients:
(i) Buying and selling of real estate;
(ii) Managing of client money, securities, or other assets;
(iii) Management of bank, savings or securities accounts;
(iv) Organisation of contributions for the creation, operation or management of companies; and
(v) Creation, operation or management of legal persons or arrangements, and buying and selling of business entities.
The FATF’s 2008 Guidance for the Legal Profession, updated in 2019, provides factors lawyers should consider when developing a risk-based system to help avoid money laundering and terrorism financing risks, including client due diligence.
Source: Barandbench
