40 FATF 40 Recommendations
8

Recommendation 8 · Group C · Terrorist Financing & Proliferation

Former: SRVIII

Non-profit organisations

Recommendation 8 requires every country to identify which non-profit organisations are at risk of being abused for terrorist financing — and to apply focused, proportionate, risk-based measures to those NPOs without disrupting legitimate charitable activity. The 2023 revision shifted the standard from a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to a targeted approach that protects civic space.

Who must comply?

  • Non-profit organisations defined by FATF as those raising or disbursing funds for charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social or fraternal purposes
  • National regulators of NPOs (often Ministry of Interior or Tax Authority)
  • Financial institutions providing services to NPOs

Key requirements

  1. 1

    Identify at-risk subset

    Countries must identify the subset of NPOs that, by virtue of their activities or characteristics, are at risk of being abused for terrorist financing — not all NPOs. The risk assessment should consider the size and characteristics of the NPO sector.

  2. 2

    Targeted, proportionate measures

    Apply focused and proportionate measures only to the at-risk subset. Measures should not unduly disrupt legitimate NPO activity, suppress civic space or violate freedoms of expression, association or religion.

  3. 3

    Outreach and awareness

    Conduct outreach with the NPO sector to raise awareness of TF risks, share typologies and develop best practices for protecting NPOs from abuse — moving away from supervision-only approaches.

  4. 4

    Supervision or monitoring of at-risk NPOs

    At-risk NPOs should be subject to supervision or monitoring proportionate to the risk — including registration, financial reporting, programmatic accountability and beneficial-ownership transparency.

  5. 5

    Effective investigation and information collection

    Countries must have the capacity to investigate suspected TF abuse of NPOs, collect information on NPO activities domestically and internationally, and cooperate with foreign counterparts.

  6. 6

    Sanctions for abuse

    Effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions must apply to NPOs and persons that abuse them for terrorist financing — without disrupting innocent NPOs operating in the same sector.

Practical example

Example: a Mexican donataria with international operations

A Mexican donataria autorizada (an NPO with tax-deductible donor receipts under SAT) operates in conflict-affected regions abroad. The risk assessment classifies it as 'at risk' under R.8. Targeted measures apply: enhanced disclosure of project locations, identification of all sub-grantees abroad, beneficial ownership of partner organisations, and TF-typology training for staff. Routine donatarias serving local communities only face the standard donor-receipt regime. The aim: prevent abuse without choking civic space.

How Mexico implements it

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

México implementa la R.8 a través de un régimen mixto fiscal y PLD:

Donatarias autorizadas y SAT

El SAT mantiene un registro de donatarias autorizadas (OSFL con autorización para emitir recibos deducibles). Estas están obligadas a reportes informativos detallados que permiten al SAT identificar OSFL en riesgo.

LFPIORPI Art. 17 Fr. XV — Donativos

La recepción de donativos por personas físicas o morales, con carácter regular o profesional, sobre 1,605 UMA es actividad vulnerable. Aplica identificación del donante y aviso al SAT vía SPPLD.

Software PLD para donativos

ENR 2025 — sector OSFL

La Evaluación Nacional de Riesgos de México evalúa el sector OSFL e identifica subsectores de mayor riesgo (operaciones internacionales, fundraising en efectivo, organizaciones recientemente creadas con flujos altos).

Milestones

  1. 2002

    Special Recommendation VIII on NPOs adopted post-9/11

  2. 2012

    Renumbered as Recommendation 8

  3. 2016

    Updated guidance to address civil-society criticism of over-broad measures

  4. 2023

    Major revision: shift to risk-based, targeted, proportionate approach

  5. 2025

    October 2025 update reinforces civic-space protection language

Related Recommendations

Other Recommendations in Group C — Terrorist Financing & Proliferation

5 R.5 Terrorist financing offence 6 R.6 Targeted sanctions — terrorism 7 R.7 Targeted sanctions — proliferation

Official citation

FATF (2012-2025), International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation, Recommendation 8, FATF, Paris, France. Last updated October 2025.

Read the official text on fatf-gafi.org