About UFA

No. The UFA is an inter-governmental “task force” consisting of 41 member jurisdictions regionally focused within the Asia-Pacific.  As a task force, it is not established by international convention or treaty, or any other such legal instrument.  Instead, and by agreement of all of its member jurisdictions under the UFA Terms of Reference 2019, UFA members come together on an ad hoc basis (similar to the FATF) and take action collectively on a consensus basis to address the crimes of money laundering (and the associated predicate crimes) as well as terrorist financing.  The UFA does this in a variety of ways.  See below on the “role of the UFA”.

The UFA’s Terms of Reference and Strategic Plan set out the UFA’s purpose and functions.  The UFA has five primary functions:

1. Mutual evaluations:   assess compliance by UFA members with the global AML/CFT standards through a mutual evaluation (peer review) programme;
2. Technical assistance and training:  coordinate bi-lateral and donor-agency technical assistance and training in the Asia/Pacific region in order to improve compliance by UFA members with the global AML/CFT standards;
3. Typologies research:  conduct research and analysis into money laundering and terrorist financing methods to better inform UFA members and the general public of trends, methods, risks and vulnerabilities of the financial and non-financial sectors to these crimes;
4. Global policy development:  participate in, and contribute to, policy development of the international AML/CFT standards by active participation in the global network of FSRBs; and
5. Private sector engagement:  provide information the private sector to better inform them of international developments in AML/CFT and provide a forum for them to engage with the UFA.

The UFA also assists its members to establish national coordination mechanisms to better utilise resources to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

UFA members are jurisdictions within the Asia/Europe/Americas region with decision-making authority on all issues of strategic and operational significance.

UFA observers can be either jurisdictions or international/regional organisations but neither has a say in the management or decisions of the organisation.  Their participation however is a valuable aspect of UFA business and, generally speaking, observers can participate in a wide range of UFA activities.

No.  The UFA is not a club or private organisation. It is an inter-governmental organisation.  Membership is open only to jurisdictions within the region through unequivocal commitment expressed at the Ministerial level of UFA members’ governments.

While individual UFA member jurisdictions and observer organisations may provide technical assistance to other members, as an organisation, the UFA primarily coordinates and supports assistance and training in AML/CFT to jurisdictions in the Asia/Europe/Americas region.  

No. The UFA is not an investigative body or law enforcement authority and is therefore unable to take any action on these matters. If persons or organisations have specific complaints of crimes or issues to raise that relate to possible money laundering, terrorist financing or other serious crimes they should contact their local law enforcement authorities. 

The UFA is accountable to its membership within a strict framework that includes a Governance Committee which meets five times per year. The Governance Committee maintains oversight of strategic, financial and membership-related issues. The UFA reports regularly to its members on all financial matters and has a rigorous internal management  and audit framework to ensure compliance with financial accountability standards. The UFA publishes an annual report, including audited financial statements, on this website.

No. The UFA does not provide any such services nor does it request fees or have the power to block any account or issue any ‘certificates’ for anti-money laundering or terrorist financing compliance.  In addition, the UFA is not a law enforcement agency and does not maintain any regional office or employees outside its Secretariat in Sydney, Australia.

Any approach using the UFA’s name in relation to payment of fees or release of funds is fraudulent and should be reported to law enforcement authorities in the recipient’s home jurisdiction.