Background:

Anti‑money laundering (AML), counter‑financing of terrorism (CFT) and sanctions regimes form the backbone of global efforts to protect the integrity of the financial system by detecting, preventing and disrupting illicit finance. AML/CFT focuses on identifying and interrupting the placement, layering and integration of proceeds from crime and the financing flows that support terrorism—through customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, beneficial‑ownership transparency, suspicious activity reporting and law‑enforcement cooperation. Sanctions are targeted policy tools imposed by states or international bodies to restrict access to assets, trade and financial services for specified individuals, entities or countries, and they compel financial institutions to screen, freeze and report dealings with listed parties. Together these frameworks rely on regulatory standards (e.g., FATF), national laws, interagency coordination and increasingly sophisticated technology (screening, analytics, and open‑source intelligence) to manage risk, uphold compliance and support prosecutions, while balancing privacy, international cooperation and operational practicality.