The Financial Action Task Force has published a report on public-private partnerships and data protection arrangements that calls for closer, more structured information sharing between authorities and the private sector to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The report says public-private partnerships are becoming a permanent and effective tool for detecting, analysing and disrupting illicit finance at speed, particularly as digitalisation and cross-border transactions increase the scale and complexity of financial crime. The report identifies at least 84 public-private partnerships globally. Among surveyed jurisdictions, 52 reported at least one domestic partnership and 18 reported more than one. More than 75% of reporting jurisdictions use these arrangements to share strategic information such as typologies, red flags and risk trends, while 55% to 66% use them for operational exchanges including case intelligence, suspicious transaction report indicators and customer due diligence or Know Your Customer data. FATF says effective models depend on a robust legal basis, clear governance, secure technology and broader participation from financial institutions, virtual asset service providers, non-financial sectors and non-traditional stakeholders such as telecom operators and digital platforms. It also stresses the need to align AML and counter-terrorist financing objectives with data protection, privacy and human rights obligations, including through senior-level engagement and joint guidance between AML and data protection authorities. Case studies cited in the report include Singapore's Project FRONTIER+, which led to more than 2,100 arrests, over 36,000 frozen bank accounts and about SGD 28.2 million seized, and a South African tactical operation that helped dismantle a pyramid scheme and freeze 60 accounts worth more than USD 450,000. The report encourages jurisdictions to adopt or strengthen partnership frameworks, potentially starting with pilot initiatives or informal mechanisms before expanding membership and operational scope. FATF says it intends to use the report to support further development of these partnerships and points to privacy-enhancing technologies as a way to improve information sharing while maintaining legal and data protection safeguards.
Financial Action Task Force2026-07-08
Financial Action Task Force report maps 84 public private partnerships and calls for wider illicit finance information sharing
The Financial Action Task Force has issued a report urging wider use of public-private partnerships to improve information sharing against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. It identifies at least 84 such partnerships globally and says effective models need clear legal authority, strong governance, secure technology and safeguards for data protection and human rights. The report highlights operational results including more than 2,100 arrests and SGD 28.2 million seized under Singapore's Project FRONTIER+.