American Samoa Adopts Best Practices in AML/CFT, According to FATF Recommendations

In an effort to strengthen its financial system and combat money laundering and terrorist financing, American Samoa has implemented best practices in anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), as evaluated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Risk-Based Approach

American Samoa’s efforts have been commended for their risk-based approach to assessing money laundering and terrorist financing risks, as well as its national cooperation and coordination mechanisms.

Key Achievements

• Criminalized money laundering and terrorist financing
• Confiscated and frozen assets related to these offenses
• Imposed targeted financial sanctions on individuals and entities involved in terrorism or proliferation
• Implemented measures to ensure the secrecy of financial institutions’ customer information
• Conducted due diligence on customers, maintained accurate records, and identified politically exposed persons

Areas for Improvement

While American Samoa has made significant progress, there are areas where it can improve:

• Reliance on third-party service providers
• Internal controls over foreign branches and subsidiaries
• Reporting of suspicious transactions
• Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements

Compliance Status

American Samoa’s efforts have been recognized as:

• Compliant in many areas
• Largely compliant in some aspects
• Partially compliant in others

Conclusion

American Samoa’s progress is a significant step forward in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, demonstrating its commitment to implementing best practices in AML/CFT.