Money Laundering Law and Terrorist Financing : Post-September 11 Responses -- Let Us Step Back and Take a Deep Breath?

This article describes the legal developments with respect to financial institutions that arose in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The authors survey the legal responses of the United States, the United Nations, the Financial Action Task Force, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, and decipher the trends established by these developments (extraterritoriality, public-private partnership, open access to information, de-liberalisation). The article also addresses implications for the financial community, such as potential liability and regulatory burden, due diligence requirements, and exchange of information. In its conclusion, the article calls for a balanced, rational, and measured evaluation of the fundamental and long-term implications of the post-September 11 responses