The FATF is an inter-governmental body that sets standards and promotes effective implementation of legal, regulatory, and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the integrity of the internationalfinancial system. The FATF conducts mutual evaluations of its members and other jurisdictions to assess their compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of their AML/CFT regimes1.
The FATF defines effectiveness as "the extent to which a country's AML/CFT regime is achieving the defined outcomes of an effective regime that allows them to mitigate their risks and threats of ML/TF"2. The FATF assesses effectiveness based on 11 immediate outcomes, which are grouped into three thematic goals:
financial system integrity, legal system and operational issues, and international cooperation2.
One of the immediate outcomes under the financial system integrity goal is that "FIs adequately apply preventive measures commensurate with their risks, and report suspicious transactions" (IO.4)2. This outcome measures how well FIs implement the FATF Recommendations on customer due diligence, record-keeping, internal controls, risk assessment, and suspicious transaction reporting. These preventive measures are essential for FIs to identify and mitigate the risks of being misused for money laundering or terrorist financing, and to provide useful information to the authorities for investigation and prosecution2.
Therefore, the correct answer is D. FIs adequately apply preventive measures, as this is one of the FATF characteristics used to assess a country's effectiveness of its AML regime.
FATF Methodology for assessing compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of AML
/CFT systems
An effective system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing

According to the Wolfsberg Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Principles for Correspondent Banking, one of the key aspects of establishing and maintaining a correspondent relationship is to conduct a risk-based due diligence on the respondent bank, which includes obtaining approval from at least one person other than the person sponsoring the relationship12. This is to ensure that the correspondent bank has a clear understanding of the nature, purpose, and expected activity of the relationship, as well as the respondent bank's ownership, governance, AML policies, and customer base12.
Another aspect of the Wolfsberg AML Principles is to recognize and assess the factors that may increase the risk inherent in a correspondent relationship, such as the involvement of politically exposed persons (PEPs), the presence of downstream (nested) correspondents, the geographic location of the respondent bank and its customers, and thetypes of products and services offered by the respondent bank12. These factors may require enhanced due diligence, monitoring, and reporting of suspicious activities by thecorrespondent bank, as well as the application of appropriate risk mitigation measures12.
1: Wolfsberg Correspondent Banking Principles 20221
2: Wolfsberg Anti-Money Laundering Principles for Correspondent Banking2 Reference: https://www.wolfsberg-principles.com/sites/default/files/wb/pdfs/wolfsberg-standards/8.%
20Wolfsberg-Correspondent-Banking-Principles-2014.pdf

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations are the international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and they apply to all countries and financial institutions. The Customer Due Diligence for Banks issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision provides guidance on how banks should conduct CDD and KYC procedures, and how they should manage the risks of correspondent banking and wire transfers. The Egmont Group Statement of Purpose outlines the objectives and functions of the Egmont Group, which is an international network of financial intelligence units (FIUs) that exchange information and cooperate in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. These three materials are relevant and useful for the bank's expansion plans, as they cover the main aspects of AML
/CFT compliance in different jurisdictions and sectors.
The USA PATRIOT Act is a US-specific legislation that enhances the powers and obligations of US authorities and financial institutions in relation to AML/CFT, but it may not be applicable or appropriate for other countries where the bank intends to operate. Therefore, it is not a necessary reference material for the bank's international department.
FATF 40 Recommendations
Customer Due Diligence for Banks
Egmont Group Statement of Purpose

According to the Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (the 6th edition) study guide, one of the best practices for conducting an internal investigation is to request formal company authorization to conduct the investigation. Such authorization should be granted, if possible, by the board of directors or audit committee, as this will help to establish the independence and legitimacy of the investigation, as well as the protection of the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine1. The other options are incorrect because:
B). Refusing to provide any records or documents to law enforcement may be seen as obstructing justice or violating regulatory obligations, and may also result in the loss of the privilege or the imposition of sanctions or penalties23.
C). Letting the bank hire any and all contract investigators may compromise the quality and integrity of the investigation, as well as the protection of the privilege or the work product doctrine, as the investigators may not be properly supervised or instructed by legal counsel, or may not be covered by the Kovel doctrine45.
D). Not marking files or documents with privileged and confidential: attorney-client privilege and/or work- product may undermine the claim of the privilege or the work product doctrine, as it may indicate that the materials were not prepared for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice or in anticipation of litigation, or that they were not intended to be kept confidential67.
1: ACAMS, CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition, Chapter 5, page 150
2: ACAMS, CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition, Chapter 5, page 151
3: Perkins Coie, Protecting Internal Investigation Materials From Disclosure, Updates, August 10, 2020
4: ACAMS, CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition, Chapter 5, page 150
5: Eversheds Sutherland, Legal privilege of corporate internal investigations under US law - 2019 caselaw update, JDSupra, December 20, 2019
6: ACAMS, CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition, Chapter 5, page 150
7: Norton Rose Fulbright, Internal investigations: when does privilege apply?, Global law firm, September 11,
2018