40 FATF 40 Recommendations
6

Recommendation 6 · Group C · Terrorist Financing & Proliferation

Former: SRIII

Targeted sanctions — terrorism

Recommendation 6 requires every country to implement targeted financial sanctions to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions on the prevention and suppression of terrorism — most notably UNSC Resolution 1267 (Al-Qaida/Taliban/ISIL) and Resolution 1373. Designated persons and entities must have their funds frozen without delay, and providing funds or financial services to them must be prohibited.

Who must comply?

  • Banks, financial institutions and DNFBPs
  • Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)
  • Government bodies responsible for sanctions implementation
  • Customs, immigration and asset-freezing authorities

Key requirements

  1. 1

    Implement UN sanctions without delay

    Funds and other assets of persons and entities designated under UNSC resolutions 1267, 1989, 2253, 1988, and successor resolutions must be frozen without delay — typically interpreted as within hours of the designation being communicated.

  2. 2

    Domestic designation mechanism (Resolution 1373)

    Each country must have a legal authority and procedures to identify, propose for designation and designate persons and entities who finance terrorism within its jurisdiction, even when no UN listing applies.

  3. 3

    Coverage of all funds and economic resources

    The freezing obligation must apply to all funds and other assets owned or controlled — directly or indirectly, wholly or jointly — by the designated person or entity, including funds derived from their property.

  4. 4

    Prohibition on dealing with designated persons

    Nationals and persons within the jurisdiction must be prohibited from making funds or services available, directly or indirectly, to designated persons or entities — except under specific exemptions authorised by the relevant UN committee.

  5. 5

    Communication and screening obligations

    Countries must communicate listings to financial institutions and DNFBPs and require them to screen customers and transactions against designated lists in real time, and to report any matches without tipping off the customer.

  6. 6

    Delisting and unfreezing procedures

    Countries must have publicly known procedures for delisting requests and for unfreezing funds of persons inadvertently affected (including those with similar names), as well as access to basic expenses for designated persons under UN-authorised exemptions.

Practical example

Example: real-time sanctions screening at a Mexican bank

When a customer initiates a wire transfer at a Mexican bank, the transfer-monitoring system simultaneously screens the originator, beneficiary and corresponding intermediaries against: the UN Sanctions List (R.6 obligation), the OFAC SDN list (US sanctions, often required by correspondent banks), and Mexico's Lista de Personas Bloqueadas issued by the SHCP. Any positive match — including phonetic/transliteration variations — triggers an automatic block, an alert to the compliance officer, and a report to the UIF within 24 hours, all without notifying the customer (tipping-off prohibited under R.21).

How Mexico implements it

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

México implementa la R.6 mediante un marco normativo y operativo coordinado:

Lista de Personas Bloqueadas (LPB) — SHCP

Lista oficial publicada y actualizada por la SHCP que incorpora designaciones ONU (R.6) y designaciones nacionales (Resolución 1373). Es de consulta obligatoria por todos los sujetos obligados PLD/CFT.

Convenio UIF-CNBV 2026 — Administración tecnológica de la LPB

El convenio formalizó la administración tecnológica de la LPB, permitiendo cotejos en tiempo real y notificaciones automáticas a entidades financieras y AV cuando hay nuevas designaciones.

Listas GAFI y otras

Adicional a la LPB, las entidades cotejan listas internacionales: ONU, OFAC, UE, GAFI grises/negras. La actualización es obligatoria al menos cada actualización oficial.

Listas GAFI: países de alto riesgo

LFPIORPI Art. 18 Fr. V — Cotejo de listas

Las AV deben consultar la LPB antes de iniciar cada operación. Coincidencias positivas obligan a no celebrar la operación y reportar a UIF/SAT en 24 horas.

Milestones

  1. 1999

    UNSC Resolution 1267 establishes Al-Qaida/Taliban sanctions regime

  2. 2001

    Resolution 1373 expands obligations to all states and creates the CTC

  3. 2001

    FATF adopts Special Recommendation III

  4. 2012

    Integrated as Recommendation 6

  5. 2025

    October 2025 update strengthens 'without delay' interpretation

Related Recommendations

Other Recommendations in Group C — Terrorist Financing & Proliferation

5 R.5 Terrorist financing offence 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 6, FATF, Paris, France. Last updated October 2025.

Read the official text on fatf-gafi.org