On 31 October 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a public consultation on FATF Risk-Based Guidance to Recommendation 25.

At the February 2023 Plenary, the FATF agreed on enhancements to Recommendation 25 on legal arrangements to bring its requirements broadly in line with those for Recommendation 24 on legal persons to ensure a balanced and coherent set of FATF standards on beneficial ownership.  In doing so, FATF stated that it would work on a guidance document to help countries implement the revised requirements of Recommendation 25.

The FATF now welcomes comments to its Risk-Based Guidance to Recommendation 25 on Beneficial Ownership and Transparency of Legal Arrangements. The Risk-Based Guidance is aimed at all stakeholders from public and private sectors that regulate, supervise, enforce, form, manage or administer trusts or similar legal arrangements. It focuses on the Recommendation 25 requirements and addresses the trust-specific features and related anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism transparency obligations. It is complementary to the Risk-Based Guidance published to Recommendation 24 in view of certain overlapping elements and aims at assisting the implementation of the requirements of Recommendation 25. The Risk-Based Guidance on Recommendations 24 and 25 should be read in parallel as equally informing countries’ approaches to the implementation of the FATF Standards on beneficial ownership.

The deadline for comments on the public consultation is 8 December 2023.