40 FATF 40 Recommendations
5

Recommendation 5 · Group C · Terrorist Financing & Proliferation

Former: SRII

Terrorist financing offence

Recommendation 5 requires every country to criminalise the financing of terrorism — including financing of terrorist organisations, individual terrorists, and terrorist acts — based on the 1999 UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The offence must extend to funds provided or collected from any source (legitimate or illegitimate) and apply regardless of whether the funds were actually used.

Who must comply?

  • National criminal codes and legislators
  • Law enforcement and counter-terrorism units
  • Prosecutors and specialised TF courts
  • Financial intelligence units screening for TF flows

Key requirements

  1. 1

    Three-pronged criminalisation

    Criminalise the financing of: (a) terrorist acts (offences within the scope of the UN counter-terrorism conventions), (b) terrorist organisations, and (c) individual terrorists — even where there is no link to a specific terrorist act.

  2. 2

    Funds from any source

    The offence must apply to funds or other assets from any source — legitimate or illegitimate. Unlike money laundering, terrorist financing often uses clean money to fund violent acts.

  3. 3

    Wilful intent or knowledge

    The offence must extend to any person who wilfully provides or collects funds with the intention or knowledge that they will be used (in full or in part) for terrorism — regardless of whether the funds were actually used.

  4. 4

    Liability of legal persons

    Criminal liability — or, where constitutional principles preclude it, civil or administrative liability — must apply to legal persons that finance terrorism, with effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

  5. 5

    TF as predicate to ML

    Terrorist financing must be designated as a predicate offence for money laundering under Recommendation 3.

  6. 6

    No safe haven defences

    Domestic-jurisdiction defences (e.g., 'the act would not be a crime in another country') must not be available for terrorism-financing prosecutions — TF is universally proscribed.

Practical example

Example: Mexico's TF offence in the LFCDO

Mexico criminalises terrorist financing through the Ley Federal contra la Delincuencia Organizada (LFCDO) and Article 139 Quáter of the CPF: anyone who, by any means, directly or indirectly, provides, collects or makes available funds, means or other assets — knowing they will be used (totally or partially) for an act of terrorism — faces 15 to 40 years in prison plus a fine of 400 to 1,200 days of minimum salary. The offence applies regardless of whether the act was carried out, and the funds may be of any origin.

How Mexico implements it

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

México implementa la R.5 a través del marco penal y de inteligencia financiera:

Art. 139 Quáter CPF — Delito de FT

Pena de 15 a 40 años de prisión por proveer, recolectar o poner a disposición fondos para terrorismo, con dolo directo o eventual. Aplica también a personas morales.

LFCDO — Delincuencia organizada

El financiamiento del terrorismo cuando se realiza a través de organización criminal estructurada activa la LFCDO con penas y técnicas especiales de investigación (intervención de comunicaciones, agentes infiltrados).

UIF — Análisis e inteligencia FT

La UIF analiza reportes y avisos para detectar flujos potenciales de FT. La Guía UIF 2026 sobre países de riesgo y FT establece 20+ indicadores específicos para entidades financieras y AV.

Guía UIF Países de Riesgo y FT 2026

Milestones

  1. 1999

    UN International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism adopted

  2. 2001

    After 9/11, FATF adopts Special Recommendation II on TF criminalisation

  3. 2012

    Integrated as Recommendation 5 in the consolidated framework

  4. 2025

    October 2025 update reinforces preventive financing detection

Related Recommendations

Other Recommendations in Group C — Terrorist Financing & Proliferation

6 R.6 Targeted sanctions — terrorism 7 R.7 Targeted sanctions — proliferation 8 R.8 Non-profit organisations

Official citation

FATF (2012-2025), International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation, Recommendation 5, FATF, Paris, France. Last updated October 2025.

Read the official text on fatf-gafi.org