By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE surge in fraud in recent years could threaten the stability of the financial system, the President of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has warned.
Speaking at the European Anti-Financial Crime Summit (EAFCS) 2026 in Dublin, Elisa de Anda Madrazo said that countries must implement stronger rules on asset recovery and beneficial ownership to combat the issue.
“Fraud is becoming a political issue. In the UK, 40% of their crime… is related to fraud and scams,” she said.
“It’s becoming an issue for the financial system, because of mistrust we’re starting to see people, in particular if they don’t have a lot of resources, say: ‘I would rather have money at home than put it in the bank. I would rather pay you in cash than use the app’.
Ms de Anda added: “We’re not there yet, but that mistrust, if we don’t take care of it, can have implications for the stability of the financial system.”
The FATF recently warned of a “fraud epidemic” amid a surge in AI and cyber-enabled scams.
In its report, it highlighted how cyber-enabled fraud cases increased by 61% in two years in Singapore. It also said that 90% of the jurisdictions assessed by the FATF, have identified fraud as a major money laundering risk.
FATF President recommendations for fighting fraud
Speaking at EAFCS 2026, Ms de Anda said that previously, fraud was “seen as an emerging threat in many regions”.
“Now 90% of our jurisdictions recognise fraud as a one of the main three threats.”
On ways to combat the issue, she urged authorities and financial institutions to increase information sharing.
“We need to look into information sharing, formal and informal, which is authority to authority in real time,” she said.
She also urged a focus on asset recovery, saying: “We need to make sure that we cut off the money of criminals, which is their bloodstream, and bring it back to the victims.
“And we need to work on beneficial ownership, because the amount of money we’re seeing requires a lot of layers to move and disguise [it].”
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