The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will meet in an Emergency Plenary Session on the 29-31 October, 2001 in Washington, D.C. The meeting will be opened by US Treasury Secretary Mr. Paul O’Neill.

Following the FATF Plenary, Ms. Clarie Lo, the FATF President, and Mr. Patrick Moulette, the FATF Executive Secretary, will hold a news conference at the National Press Club at 10.00 a.m., Wednesday 31 October to announce the outcome of the discussions and the measures adopted at the meeting.

Addressing the financing of terrorism will be a new focus for the FATF and is a natural complement to its mandate to fight all aspects of money laundering. At this meeting, the FATF will discuss the immediate actions it can take to foster the tracing and blocking of funds to terrorists particularly in the area of counter-measures to deal with the funding of terrorism. The FATF will also discuss other actions to be taken as part of a broader programme for the short, medium, and longer term to combat the financing of terrorism.

The FATF is an independent international body whose Secretariat is housed at the OECD. The twenty nine member countries and governments of the FATF are: Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Luxembourg; Mexico; the Kingdom of the Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Portugal; Singapore; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; United Kingdom and the United States. Two international organisations are also members of the FATF: the European Commission and the Gulf Co-operation Council.

FATF/OECD RELEASE
Paris, 25 October 2001