Am I my corporate’s keeper? Anti-money laundering gatekeeping opportunities of the corporate legal officer

Abstract

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.