ABSTRACT

This article analyses the importance of including corporate legal officers (also termed general counsel or chief legal officers) in the anti-money laundering (AML) international standard set by the Financial Action Task Force – in particular, the Recommendations dealing with the legal profession. It deconstructs the origins and development of the standard and explores the reasons that led to the inclusion of the legal profession in the AML regime and the ways in which the standard has reshaped regulatory regimes globally. The article fills a void in the existing literature by contemplating the future of the legal professional and the role of corporate legal officers, providing a case study of a profession that is not (yet) required to comply with the AML international standard. This approach differs significantly from that of other literature in the field, which deals comprehensively with the appropriateness of including legal professionals in the AML regime, without considering the impact of exempting CLOs from the regime. The article aims to demonstrate that an understanding of the role of CLOs in the legal profession can shed light on the gaps in the international standard and the consequent risks to the AML regime.

摘要

本文分析了将公司法务官（也称为总法律顾问或首席法律官）纳入金融行动特别工作组制定的反洗钱 (AML) 国际标准的重要性，特别是涉及法律专业的建议。它解构了该标准的起源和发展，并探讨了将法律专业纳入反洗钱制度的原因，以及该标准如何重塑全球监管制度。这篇文章通过思考法律专业人士的未来和公司法律官员的作用，填补了现有文献的空白，提供了一个（尚未）需要遵守 AML 国际标准的专业案例研究。这种方法与该领域其他文献的方法有很大不同，后者全面讨论了将法律专业人员纳入反洗钱制度的适当性，而不考虑将 CLO 豁免于该制度的影响。本文旨在证明，了解 CLO 在法律界的作用可以揭示国际标准的差距以及随之而来的 AML 制度风险。