Who must comply?
- Central authorities for extradition (typically Foreign Affairs or Justice ministries)
- Federal prosecutors and courts
- Specialised international-cooperation units
Key requirements
- 1
ML, predicate offences and TF as extraditable offences
Money laundering, the predicate offences underlying it, and terrorist financing must all be extraditable offences under the country's law and its treaties.
- 2
Sound legal basis
Extradition must be possible based on bilateral treaties, multilateral conventions (e.g., Palermo, Mérida) or — in their absence — domestic legislation enabling extradition on reciprocity.
- 3
No refusal solely for fiscal nature
A request must not be refused on the sole ground that the offence is also considered to involve fiscal matters — particularly relevant in tax-fraud and ML predicate cases.
- 4
Aut dedere aut judicare
Where a country does not extradite its own nationals, it must, at the request of the country seeking extradition, submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution — without undue delay.
- 5
Cooperation in lieu of extradition
When extradition is conditional on dual criminality, countries should make every effort to find legal interpretations that allow cooperation — focusing on conduct rather than precise legal labelling.
- 6
Adequate procedures and timeliness
Procedures for handling extradition requests must be efficient, well-resourced and minimise delays. Tracking systems should ensure cases do not stall in administrative limbo.
Practical example
Example: Mexico extradites a fugitive for ML prosecution
A US federal court issues an extradition request for a Mexican national resident in the US who is wanted for ML in Mexico. Under R.39 (and the Mexico-US extradition treaty), the US analyses the request: ML is extraditable, the underlying conduct (cartel financial structuring) is dual-criminal, and the request is not refused for fiscal-nature alone. The US extradites the suspect to Mexico for trial. Conversely, when Mexico cannot extradite a Mexican national to the US, the FGR pursues domestic prosecution under aut dedere aut judicare.
How Mexico implements it
Country-specific section in Spanish — Mexican regulatory references (LFPIORPI, CNBV, SAT, UIF).
México implementa la R.39 a través de la Ley de Extradición Internacional y tratados bilaterales:
Ley de Extradición Internacional
Regula los procedimientos para extradiciones activas (México solicita) y pasivas (México concede). La SER (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) y la FGR son las autoridades centrales.
Tratados bilaterales de extradición
México tiene tratados con EUA, España, Francia, Argentina, Brasil, Canadá, Reino Unido y muchos otros. Los tratados especifican delitos extraditables, causales de rechazo y procedimientos.
Aut dedere aut judicare
Cuando un nacional mexicano no puede ser extraditado, la FGR procede al juicio en México con base en la evidencia provista por el país solicitante. Esto cumple con la R.39 y mantiene la cooperación efectiva.
LD y FT extraditables
El Art. 400 Bis CPF (LD) y el Art. 139 Quáter CPF (FT) son delitos extraditables, con penas suficientemente serias para activar la mayoría de tratados (≥1 año de prisión).
Milestones
-
1990
Original Recommendation 39 on extradition
-
2012
Updated with explicit aut dedere aut judicare obligation
-
2025
October 2025 update emphasises timeliness and reduced refusal grounds
Related Recommendations
Other Recommendations in Group G — International Cooperation
Official citation
FATF (2012-2025), International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation, Recommendation 39, FATF, Paris, France. Last updated October 2025.
Read the official text on fatf-gafi.org