Anti-money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Legislation and Its Impact on Private International Relations

This study is devoted to the analysis of the legislation on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and to identifying the features of its impact on the implementation of international settlements in particular and international private law relations in general. Structurally, the study is divided into two chapters, each of which is divided into three parts. The first chapter is devoted directly to the study of AML/CFT legislation. Its first part reveals the basics of regulation of countering the legalization of criminal proceeds and the financing of terrorism in foreign legal systems, namely in the United States and Germany. The second part of the first chapter describes the experience of international cooperation in the field of AML/ CFT, the activities of international organizations in this area and the normative and non-normative acts developed by them. Finally, the third part is a review of the Russian anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing legislation. The second chapter of this research is devoted directly to identifying the main problematic issues in the context of the impact of AML/CFT legislation on international private relations, as well as the prospects for solving these problems. The first part of it reveals the problem of blocking trustworthy international transactions for AML/CFT purposes. The second part of this chapter gives an idea of the problem of reducing the number of correspondent relationships between banks from different states due to the influence of anti-money laundering legislation. The third and final part describes the challenges of applying AML/CFT legislation as a government tool to block politically or economically undesirable transactions. As a result of the analysis, the author draws the following conclusions. First, the development of AML/CFT legislation in order to solve the problems of its impact on international settlements requires the deepening of international cooperation in the field, the harmonization or unification of the requirements of anti-laundering legislation. Secondly, it is necessary to establish an international document flow between banks in order to restore mutual trust. Third, it is necessary to deepen the interaction and information exchange between banks and the regulator in the field of AML / CFT.