Ehi Eric Esoimeme – författare

This book explores the politics of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) regulation in several countries across Africa and the Small Island States. Developed countries created the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat ML/TF globally. Expectedly, the FATF’s standards mirror existing banking regulations within the G7 countries. Yet, the standards apply to all countries irrespective of the limited ML/TF risks they pose to the global economy, their weak pre-conditions for effective regulation and their non-involvement in the FATF’s framing. Still, such countries, mainly within the Global South, have worked hard to amplify their compliance with the regime due to fears of the repercussions of their non-compliance. This collection demonstrates how the global ML/TF regulation is treated as an implicitly superior legal regime where the Global South must comply irrespective of their perception of the FATF’s legitimacy challenges. It shows that beyond exogenous factors such as neo-colonialism, endogenous factors such as weak institutions and corruption undermine the compliance trajectory of the Global South. Furthermore, it analyses the unintended consequences of transplanting FATF standards into diverse legal and cultural contexts. The volume contributes to our understanding of the challenges of transplantation from the Global North and how the Global South is steering within the constraints created by the FATF. It advocates for a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced compliance challenges of developing countries. It further proposes practical solutions to address them, emphasizing the importance of risk-based understanding, accountability, capacity-building and coordination in achieving effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. The collection will be essential reading for researchers, academics and policy-makers working in financial crime regulation and international economic law.

This book explores the politics of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) regulation in several countries across Africa and the Small Island States. Developed countries created the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat ML/TF globally. Expectedly, the FATF’s standards mirror existing banking regulations within the G7 countries. Yet, the standards apply to all countries irrespective of the limited ML/TF risks they pose to the global economy, their weak pre-conditions for effective regulation and their non-involvement in the FATF’s framing. Still, such countries, mainly within the Global South, have worked hard to amplify their compliance with the regime due to fears of the repercussions of their non-compliance. This collection demonstrates how the global ML/TF regulation is treated as an implicitly superior legal regime where the Global South must comply irrespective of their perception of the FATF’s legitimacy challenges. It shows that beyond exogenous factors such as neo-colonialism, endogenous factors such as weak institutions and corruption undermine the compliance trajectory of the Global South. Furthermore, it analyses the unintended consequences of transplanting FATF standards into diverse legal and cultural contexts. The volume contributes to our understanding of the challenges of transplantation from the Global North and how the Global South is steering within the constraints created by the FATF. It advocates for a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced compliance challenges of developing countries. It further proposes practical solutions to address them, emphasizing the importance of risk-based understanding, accountability, capacity-building and coordination in achieving effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. The collection will be essential reading for researchers, academics and policy-makers working in financial crime regulation and international economic law.

This book provides real-world insights into the application of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Anti-Money Laundering Standards in developing countries. Presenting a Global South perspective, experts highlight power imbalances in the creation and enforcement of these standards and show why rigid or erroneous transplantation can have unintended consequences in some jurisdictions.Bridging practice and theory, this book reviews legal tensions between international obligations and domestic realities. Case studies and expert insights reveal how the FATF Standards, designed to combat money laundering and protect the world’s financial systems, do not always account for developing countries’ individual circumstances. Examples include international standards clashing with long-standing local laws, rules around attorney–client privilege and harming national efforts towards financial inclusion. This book advocates for international reforms aimed at aligning global financial integrity goals with local development priorities.An essential resource for students and academics in criminal law, international law, economics and development studies, Legal Transplantation of Global Anti-Money Laundering Standards is also beneficial for policymakers, international stakeholders and government officials in developing countries.