The Basel AML Index (hereinafter: “Index”) is an annual ranking that assesses money laundering and terrorist financing (hereinafter: “ML/TF”) threats around the world. It also assesses the capacity of jurisdictions’ anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (hereinafter: “AML/CFT”) measures to address these risks. Published by the Basel Institute on Governance since 2012, it provides risk scores based on data from 17 publicly available sources such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Transparency International, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.

The 2021 edition of the Index was assessed across 110 jurisdictions and has been published recently. According to the press release of the Basel Institute on Governance, the index would raise grave questions about whether jurisdictions are serious about tackling their ML/TF risks, and what might be holding them back. According to the Index, the average global money laundering risk score would have increased from 5.22 to 5.3 out of 10.

The newest edition of the Index tries to determine what is holding back jurisdictions from effectively tackling their ML/TF risks and avoiding being the weak spot in regional and international financial systems. In conclusion, the report identifies the need for adaptation in four different areas of AML/CFT policy: i) a stronger response to threats from virtual assets, ii) effective preventions measures, iii) a better beneficial ownership transparency and iv) that the ML/TF vulnerabilities are also addressed beyond the financial sector. Based on findings of the Index, a newly published article by the Basel Institute on Governance itself shares insights from the Index and looks at how effective jurisdictions are at preventing money laundering.