Stephen Reimer

In principle fatf recommendations are non-binding. In practice almost no country can afford to ignore them. Any that receive poor marks risk ending up on a “grey” list, which causes capital inflows to dwindle as foreign banks retreat. Those on the “black” list—Iran, Myanmar and North Korea—are largely cut off from the global, dollar-based financial system. Despite this, the task-force’s standards are vaguely worded and allow strong measures to be taken, based not on criminal convictions, or even allegations supported by evidence, but on mere suspicions. The worst offenders are autocratic regimes keen to maintain a pretence of democratic rule, says Stephen Reimer of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a think-tank. But even democracies are sometimes tempted. In 2022 Canada broadened its anti-money-laundering laws to stop funding for a protest by lorry drivers that had paralysed Ottawa. A recent study by RUSI suggests that abuses are most common during elections, referendums, the passing of controversial laws and periods of military tension.

Governments around the world have systematically misused the Financial Action Task Force’s standards on money laundering and financial crime to crack down on domestic opponents, using trumped-up charges to freeze opponents’ bank accounts and gather sensitive banking information on non-profits, according to a new study [from RUSI's Centre for Finance and Security].

Hamas’s international financial web is now “immune from Israeli shells”, experts believe – meaning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will struggle to achieve his goal of destroying the militant group. Stephen Reimer, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) specialising in financial crime, told i that “the total destruction of Hamas would not come to pass even if “all of Gaza is levelled to the ground”. “Its financial network is truly global, making it immune from Israeli shells,” he said. “Its global financial network extends way beyond Gaza and even the Middle East.” ...Elsewhere, banking systems in countries like Qatar and Turkey have acted as a “conduit” for Hamas funding, according to Mr Reimer – some of Turkey’s biggest banks, including Kuveyt Turk, have been accused by Israel and America of knowingly storing Hamas’s cash. “[Hamas] is not designated as a terrorist organisation by all governments,” Mr Reimer explained, “so they can evade sanctions by operating in jurisdictions where the government might be looking the other way.”