H. Res. 495
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
June 19, 2000.
Whereas the International Monetary Fund has estimated the
amount of international money laundering to be at least
$600,000,000,000 annually representing 2 to 5 percent
of the world’s gross domestic product;
Whereas money laundering is a crucial adjunct to the under-
lying crimes that generate money, including drug traf-
ficking, kidnapping, murder, international terrorism, and
other forms of violent crime;
Whereas money laundering and foreign corruption facilitate
each other, undermining the efforts of the United States
to promote democratic institutions and economic develop-
ment around the world;
Whereas, in today’s open and global financial markets, which
are characterized by a high mobility of funds and the
rapid development of new payment technologies, the tools
for laundering the proceeds of serious crimes have be-
come more sophisticated and readily available;
Whereas recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in the
number of jurisdictions offering financial services without
appropriate controls or regulation and which are pro-
tected by strict banking secrecy legislation which facili-
tates the anonymous protection for illegal assets in cer-
•HRES 495 EH
tain countries or territories making them even more at-
tractive for money laundering;
Whereas the proliferation of such noncooperative countries or
territories which do not, or only marginally, participate in
international cooperation against financial crime, also ex-
acerbates competition between these centers and so con-
tributes to worsen existing practices and makes more dif-
ficult the maintenance of anti-money laundering stand-
ards in other countries;
Whereas, in order to ensure the stability of the international
financial system and effective prevention of money laun-
dering, all financial centers in the world should have com-
prehensive control, regulation, and supervision systems,
and that all financial intermediaries and agents be sub-
ject to strict obligations, notably as regards the preven-
tion, detection, and punishment of money laundering;
Whereas the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laun-
dering (FATF), of which the United States is a founding
member, was established for the purpose of developing
and promoting policies to combat international money
laundering;
Whereas the FATF, consisting of 26 jurisdictions including
the United States and two international organizations,
originally issued in 1990 and revised in 1996 40 rec-
ommendations designed for universal application that set
out the basic framework for antimoney laundering efforts
covering the criminal justice system and law enforcement,
the financial system and its regulation, and international
cooperation;
Whereas the FATF has determined the criteria for defining
noncooperative countries or territories consistent with the
•HRES 495 EH
40 recommendations, and FATF members have agreed
on a process for identifying noncooperative jurisdictions
to include all countries and territories, both inside and
outside FATF membership, whose detrimental practices
seriously and unjustifiably hamper the fight against
international money laundering;
Whereas the FATF has reported that the list of noncoopera-
tive countries or territories should include several subcat-
egories of noncooperative countries or territories which
could be as follows: clearly noncooperative with severe de-
ficiencies in many areas, partly noncooperative with im-
pediments in various areas, and de facto noncooperative
with no significant impediments in laws and regulations
but ineffective regime in practice; and
Whereas the FATF is gathering and analyzing all relevant
information necessary for the publication of lists of non-
cooperative jurisdictions: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House that—
(1) the United States should continue to actively
and publicly support the objectives of the FATF with re-
gard to combating international money laundering;
(2) the FATF should identify noncooperative juris-
dictions in as expeditious a manner as possible and pub-
licly release a list directly naming those jurisdictions
identified;
(3) the United States should support the public re-
lease of the list naming noncooperative jurisdictions
identified by the FATF;
•HRES 495 EH
(4) the United States should encourage the adop-
tion of the necessary international action to encourage
compliance by the identified noncooperative jurisdictions;
and
(5) the United States should take the necessary
countermeasures to protect the United States economy
against money of unlawful origin and encourage other
nations to do the same.
Attest:
Clerk.