At the ministerial meeting in April 2012, the member countries renewed the FATF's mandate through December 31, 2020. Recently, FATF surveyed the vulnerability of Hawalas and other similar service providers to money laundering and terrorist financing as a result of their use of nonbank settlement methods. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FATF redirected its efforts to focus on money laundering and terrorist financing. On February 15, 2012, the FATF members adopted a revised and updated set of the FATF Forty Recommendations, which added the proliferation of financing of weapons of mass destruction to FATF's areas of surveillance. In addition, the new standards address the challenge of terrorist financing by integrating standards for combating terrorist financing throughout the Recommendations, thereby eliminating the need for the nine Special Recommendations that had supplemented the Forty Recommendations. 7. 9. As part of these efforts, the FATF has done the following:
Issued a statement warning all FATF members and all jurisdictions to protect their financial systems from risks associated with Iran's failure to address ongoing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering regime and in combating financial terrorism Completed an analysis of the impact of the global financial and economic crises on international cooperation in the area of money laundering and terrorist financing and reported to the G-20 in September 2009 on responses to the financial crisis. The report noted the unique role the United States and the dollar play in the international financial markets. Issues for Congress

Following the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed P.L.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, or the 9/11 Commission, recommended that tracking terrorist financing "must remain front and center in U.S. counterterrorism efforts" (see The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, July, 2004. p. 382). As part of these efforts, the United States plays a leading role in the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The independent, intergovernmental policymaking body was established by the 1989 G-7 Summit in Paris as a result of growing concerns among the summit participants about the threat posed to the international banking system by money laundering. After September 11, 2001, the body expanded its role to include identifying sources and methods of terrorist financing and adopted nine special recommendations on terrorist financing to track terrorists' funds. The scope of activity of FATF was broadened as a result of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, since financial systems in distress can be more vulnerable to abuse for illegal activities. More recently, the FATF added the proliferation of financing of weapons of mass destruction as one of its areas of surveillance. In April 2012, the member countries adopted a remodeled set of Forty Recommendations and renewed the FATF's mandate through December 31, 2020. This report provides an overview of the task force and of its progress to date in gaining broad international support for its recommendations.