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3/2/2022

Treasury Publishes National Risk Assessments for Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing | U.…

Treasury Publishes National Risk Assessments for Money
Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing
March 1, 2022

Reports Identify Key Illicit Finance Concerns to the United States; Enable the Public and
Private Sectors to More E ectively Manage and Combat Illicit Finance Risks

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today issued the 2022 National Risk
Assessments (NRAs) on Money Laundering (NMLRA), Terrorist Financing (NTFRA) and
Proliferation Financing (NPFRA). These documents highlight the most significant illicit finance
threats, vulnerabilities, and risks facing the United States. The United States is vulnerable to
all three forms of illicit finance because of the size and sophistication of the U.S. financial
system and centrality of the U.S. dollar in the payment infrastructure of global trade.
These NRAs are the third iteration of the NMLRA and NTFRA since 2015 and second for NPFRA
since 2018. They take into account changes to the illicit finance risk environment resulting
from the COVID-19 pandemic, ransomware, domestic violent extremism, corruption; the
increased digitization of payments and financial services; and the enactment of significant
new requirements to the U.S. anti-money laundering /countering the financing of terrorism
(AML/CFT) framework. The NRAs are an important resource that the public and private
sectors can use to understand the current illicit finance environment and inform their own risk
mitigation strategies.
“The National Risk Assessments underscore the U.S. governmentʼs commitment to protecting
our economy and financial system from exploitation by a variety of criminal actors and
national security threats.” said Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence. “By better understanding the current risk environment, we can more e ectively
guard the integrity of the U.S. financial system.”
Among the findings of the NRAs:
NMLRA: Criminals continue to use a wide range of money laundering techniques to move
and conceal illicit proceeds and promote criminal activity depending on availability and
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0619

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Treasury Publishes National Risk Assessments for Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing | U.…

convenience. The crimes that generate the largest amount of illicit proceeds laundered in
or through the United States include: fraud, the largest proceeds generating crime; drug
tra icking; cybercrime; human tra icking and smuggling; and corruption. The U.S.
continues to face both persistent and emerging money laundering risks related to: (1) the
continuing misuse of legal entities; (2) the lack of transparency in certain real estate
transactions; (3) complicit merchants and professionals that misuse their positions or
businesses; and (4) pockets of weaknesses in compliance or supervision at some
regulated U.S. financial institutions.
NTFRA: With respect to foreign terrorist groups, the most common form of financial
support from U.S.-based individuals continues to be the transfer of small sums (several
hundred to tens of thousands of dollars) to facilitators outside of the U.S. working on
behalf of ISIS and its a iliates, Al-Qaida and its a iliates, and Hizballah. The 2022 NTFRA
analyzes for the first time the funding methods that support domestic violent extremists
(DVE). While many DVE attacks are self-funded, DVE networks may raise funds through
solicitations to supporters, commercial ventures, or criminal activity.
NPFRA: The Democratic Peopleʼs Republic of Korea (DPRK), followed by Iran, continue to
pose the most significant proliferation finance threats. Since the 2018 NPFRA, China and,
to a lesser extent, Russia, have expanded their e orts to illegally acquire U.S.-origin
goods. Proliferation finance networks continue to misuse correspondent banking
relationships and establish multiple front and shell companies to facilitate financial
activity and conduct their trade. They continue to generate significant revenue from the
maritime sector, in violation of international and U.S. law. These networks are also
increasingly exploiting the digital economy, including through the systematic mining and
trading of virtual assets, and the hacking of virtual asset service providers.
Treasuryʼs O ice of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes led the assessment process and
coordinated closely with o ices and bureaus in the Treasury Department, relevant law
enforcement and regulatory agencies, sta s of the Federal functional regulators, and across
the intelligence and diplomatic communities.
In the coming weeks, Treasury will release the 2022 National Strategy for Combatting
Terrorist and Other Illicit Finance, a plan directly informed by the analysis contained in the risk
assessments. In the strategy, Treasury will share recommendations for addressing the
highlighted issues. Ahead of its release, Treasury is incorporating feedback on these and prior
risk assessments from stakeholders.
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Treasury Publishes National Risk Assessments for Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing | U.…

Read more:
The 2022 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment.
The 2022 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment.
The 2022 National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment.
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https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0619

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