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Anti-Money Laundering International Database (AMLID)

The Anti-Money Laundering International Database (AMLID), maintained by the UNODC, serves as a global repository of AML laws, typologies, and institutional frameworks. It supports policymakers and compliance teams with comparative insights. IDYC360 integrates AMLID intelligence to enhance regulatory mapping and cross-border AML compliance automation.

The Anti-Money Laundering International Database (AMLID) is a global reference and knowledge-sharing platform developed and maintained by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It serves as an authoritative source of national anti-money laundering (AML) laws, regulations, typologies, and institutional frameworks, facilitating international cooperation and harmonization in financial crime prevention.

AMLID enables financial intelligence units (FIUs), regulators, law enforcement agencies, and compliance professionals to access up-to-date legal and procedural information on how countries implement AML and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) measures, supporting evidence-based policy development and cross-border collaboration.

Relevance in Compliance and Financial Services

AMLID plays a crucial role in the global fight against illicit finance by bridging informational gaps between jurisdictions. It promotes transparency and comparability in AML legislation, helping regulators and compliance teams benchmark their systems against international standards such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations.

Its relevance includes:

  • Policy Reference: AMLID serves as a centralized repository of AML/CTF laws, national risk assessments, and institutional structures.
  • Capacity Building: Provides resources for developing or improving national AML frameworks.
  • Operational Insight: Enables comparative analysis of enforcement models, FIU mandates, and reporting mechanisms.
  • International Cooperation: Supports information sharing and technical assistance between countries and regional bodies.

For financial institutions and compliance professionals, AMLID is a strategic resource for understanding jurisdictional AML expectations, risk exposures, and regulatory obligations when operating across borders.

Structure and Content of AMLID

AMLID is designed as a structured database containing detailed country profiles organized into several core categories:

  1. Legal Framework: Includes national AML and CTF laws, implementing decrees, and associated regulatory instruments.

  2. Institutional Framework: Outlines the roles of competent authorities such as FIUs, central banks, law enforcement bodies, and supervisory agencies.

  3. Operational Measures: Details reporting thresholds, KYC/CDD requirements, penalties, and compliance expectations.

  4. Typologies and Case Studies: Illustrates money laundering methods, sector vulnerabilities, and enforcement actions.

  5. International Cooperation Mechanisms: Lists treaty memberships, mutual evaluation results, and participation in regional AML bodies.

AMLID is continuously updated through contributions from member states and validated by UNODC experts to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Technical and Analytical Functions

Beyond serving as a static database, AMLID provides analytical functionality for policy and compliance stakeholders:

  • Comparative Analysis Tools: Allow users to assess the alignment of national AML systems with FATF standards.
  • Trend Mapping: Identifies emerging threats such as virtual asset misuse, beneficial ownership opacity, or trade-based money laundering.
  • Cross-Referencing: Links AML legal frameworks with other UN databases on corruption, organized crime, and asset recovery.
  • Research Support: Assists academics, policymakers, and compliance professionals in developing AML risk assessments or reform proposals.

By combining legal content with analytical context, AMLID enhances global understanding of how AML regimes evolve across jurisdictions.

Global Impact and Use Cases

AMLID contributes to the standardization of global AML efforts by:

  • Enhancing FATF Mutual Evaluations: Supporting peer reviews with verified national data.
  • Supporting Regional Bodies: Enabling entities like APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering), ESAAMLG, and GAFILAT to coordinate regional strategies.
  • Assisting Developing Economies: Offering a blueprint for drafting AML legislation and building enforcement capacity.
  • Facilitating Technical Assistance: Guiding donor and training programs based on identified gaps in legal or institutional frameworks.

International organizations, including the World Bank and IMF, frequently reference AMLID when conducting financial sector assessments or advising governments on AML compliance enhancement.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite its strengths, AMLID faces several ongoing challenges:

  1. Data Completeness: Some jurisdictions delay updates or provide limited information.
  2. Variability in Legal Terminology: Differences in legal language complicate direct comparisons between countries.
  3. Limited Public Accessibility: Full database access is restricted to authorized users, mainly government and institutional actors.
  4. Technology Modernization Needs: Ongoing efforts are required to ensure interoperability with other AML data systems.

These constraints highlight the importance of integrating AMLID data with advanced compliance platforms like IDYC360 to extract actionable intelligence.

The IDYC360 Perspective

IDYC360 complements the capabilities of AMLID by operationalizing global AML intelligence within enterprise compliance environments. While AMLID provides foundational legal knowledge, IDYC360 transforms this information into real-time, risk-based decision-making tools.

Key advantages include:

  • Regulatory Intelligence Integration: Syncs AMLID data with IDYC360’s global compliance map, ensuring current jurisdictional insight.
  • Risk-Based Country Profiling: Automates AML exposure scoring based on AMLID’s legal and enforcement data.
  • Cross-Border Compliance Harmonization: Aligns institutional controls with both FATF and national AML frameworks referenced in AMLID.
  • Knowledge Automation: Converts static AMLID content into dynamic compliance workflows and monitoring triggers.

This synergy between global reference (AMLID) and operational execution (IDYC360) enables financial institutions to achieve higher compliance assurance and strategic foresight.

Related Terms

  • AML: Anti-Money Laundering
  • AMLA: Anti-Money Laundering Act
  • FIU: Financial Intelligence Unit
  • FATF: Financial Action Task Force
  • UNODC: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
  • Mutual Evaluation Report (MER)
  • Egmont Group
  • National Risk Assessment (NRA)

References

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