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Protecting charities from terrorists … and counterterrorists: FATF and the global effort to prevent terrorist financing through the non-profit sector

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Abstract

What role has FATF played in the global effort to counter terrorist financing through the non-profit sector? How have advocates for the sector responded and what do these developments tell us about FATF’s operations and influence? This article reflects on the emergence and evolution of FATF Recommendation 8, initially introduced as Special Recommendation VIII after the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001. We show how the breadth of that recommendation elicited a response in the form of a "transnational advocacy network" among those within the non-profit sector. The resulting process of dialogue and the recent change in the text of the recommendation provide important lessons for scholars and practitioners concerned about FATF's accountability and authority.

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Notes

  1. In February 2012, FATF consolidated the “40 + 9 recommendations” on AML and CFT into a revised “40 Recommendations.” In that transition, SRVIII became R8 and the text remained identical. Consistent with FATF usage, we refer to “SRVIII” in citing the recommendation prior to 2012 and “R8” after that. The text of R8 was only revised in 2016.

  2. When Special Recommendation VIII was adopted in 2001, FATF’s membership comprised 29 governments and 2 regional organizations [7]

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  1. Department of Political Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, 524 West 59th Street, New York, NY, 10019, USA

    Peter Romaniuk

  2. Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, 61 Whitehall, Westminster, London, SW1A 2ET, UK

    Tom Keatinge

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Correspondence to Peter Romaniuk.

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Romaniuk, P., Keatinge, T. Protecting charities from terrorists … and counterterrorists: FATF and the global effort to prevent terrorist financing through the non-profit sector. Crime Law Soc Change 69, 265–282 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-017-9755-6

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