40 FATF 40 Recommendations
3

Recommendation 3 · Group B · Money Laundering & Confiscation

Former: R.1 & R.2

Money laundering offence

Recommendation 3 requires every country to criminalise money laundering on the basis of the 1988 Vienna Convention and the 2000 Palermo Convention, applying the offence to all serious crimes (the 'predicate offence' approach) with the widest possible range. Countries must also extend liability to legal persons, allow autonomous prosecution (without need for a conviction on the predicate), and impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

Who must comply?

  • National criminal codes and legislators
  • Prosecutors and courts handling ML investigations
  • Law enforcement (police, judicial police)
  • Asset recovery offices

Key requirements

  1. 1

    Criminalise ML based on Vienna and Palermo conventions

    The ML offence must cover the conversion or transfer, concealment or disguise, acquisition, possession or use of criminal property — and the participation, association, conspiracy, attempt, aiding, abetting and counselling of any of the above.

  2. 2

    All serious offences as predicates

    ML must apply to the widest possible range of predicate offences. Countries can use a threshold approach (offences punishable by ≥1 year), an enumeration approach, or a combined approach — but must always include the 21 designated categories of FATF predicate offences.

  3. 3

    Self-laundering

    The offence must apply to a person who launders the proceeds of their own criminal activity, unless this contradicts fundamental principles of domestic law.

  4. 4

    Liability of legal persons

    Criminal liability — or, if not consistent with constitutional principles, civil or administrative liability — must apply to legal persons that commit ML, with effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

  5. 5

    No conviction needed on the predicate

    It must be possible to prosecute and convict for ML without a prior or simultaneous conviction for the predicate offence; the predicate may have been committed in another country.

  6. 6

    Effective, proportionate, dissuasive sanctions

    Penalties must be sufficiently serious to deter ML — typically including imprisonment for natural persons and substantial financial penalties for both natural and legal persons.

Practical example

Example: Mexico's Article 400 Bis CPF

Mexico criminalises money laundering through Article 400 Bis of the Federal Penal Code (CPF), which establishes a base sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison plus a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 days of minimum salary, with the offence triggered by a wide range of conducts: acquiring, transferring, custodian, exchanging, transporting, providing, investing, depositing, transmitting or operating with resources of illicit origin. Article 400 Bis 1 escalates the penalty when the offender is part of the AML regime (compliance officer, banker, lawyer who acted in their professional capacity), reaching up to 22.5 years.

How Mexico implements it

Country-specific section in Spanish — Mexican regulatory references (LFPIORPI, CNBV, SAT, UIF).

El delito de lavado de dinero en México está consolidado en el Código Penal Federal:

Art. 400 Bis CPF — Base 5 a 15 años

La conducta tipo penal abarca prácticamente todo el ciclo del LD. Pena base 5-15 años de prisión y multa de 1,000 a 5,000 días de salario mínimo. Aplica también a personas que conozcan o debían conocer el origen ilícito (dolo eventual).

Art. 400 Bis 1 CPF — Agravante hasta 22.5 años

Cuando el infractor pertenece al régimen ALA/CFT (servidor público, oficial de cumplimiento, banquero, contador, abogado, notario actuando en capacidad profesional), la pena se incrementa en una mitad — llegando hasta 22.5 años.

Art. 400 Bis 2 CPF — Agravante por servidor público

Si el infractor es servidor público en ejercicio de sus funciones, la pena puede llegar hasta 30 años de prisión, además de inhabilitación.

Coordinación con régimen administrativo

El proceso penal del Art. 400 Bis es independiente de las multas administrativas LFPIORPI/CNBV. Un sujeto obligado puede enfrentar simultáneamente sanción administrativa por incumplimiento PLD y proceso penal por LD.

Milestones

  1. 1988

    Vienna Convention against drug trafficking — first ML offence basis

  2. 2000

    Palermo Convention against transnational organised crime — broadens predicate offences

  3. 1990

    Original FATF Recommendations 1 & 2 on ML offence

  4. 2012

    Consolidated as Recommendation 3

  5. 2025

    October 2025 update reinforces self-laundering and legal-person liability

Related Recommendations

Other Recommendations in Group B — Money Laundering & Confiscation

4 R.4 Confiscation & provisional measures

Official citation

FATF (2012-2025), International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation, Recommendation 3, FATF, Paris, France. Last updated October 2025.

Read the official text on fatf-gafi.org