This is the fifth edition of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index developed by the Basel Institute on Governance. The Basel Institute published the Basel AML Index for the first time in 2012 and has since then been the only non-profit organisation to create a research-based ranking focusing on the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. The Basel AML Index provides the following key features:

• Overview of 149 countries according to their risk level in money laundering/terrorist financing
• Composite index based on public sources and third party assessments
• Independent research-based risk ranking which is updated annually
• AML country risk assessment tool for compliance purposes (see Expert Edition)

Basel AML Index 2016

The Basel AML Index 2016 Report summarises the key findings and provides a detailed explanation about our methodology. See also what is new in the 2016 edition and the recent changes in our methodology. Our annual review section outlines the main discussions and feedback received from external experts with academic, supervisory and law enforcement background. 

Download the 2016 Basel Index Report
Media release: Fighting money laundering remains weak in most countries according to Basel AML Index 2016

What does the Basel AML Index measure?

The Basel AML Index measures the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing of countries based on publicly available sources. A total of 14 indicators that deal with AML/CFT regulations, corruption, financial standards, political disclosure and rule of law are aggregated into one overall risk score. By combining these various data sources, the overall risk score represents a holistic assessment addressing structural as well as functional elements in the AML/CFT framework. As there are no quantitative data available, the Basel AML Index does not measure the actual existence of money laundering activity or amount of illicit financial money within a country but is designed to indicate the risk level, i.e. the vulnerabilities of money laundering and terrorist financing within a country.

What has changed from the 2015 edition?

The 2016 Basel AML Index covers 149 countries. Four countries were removed from the 2015 edition of the Basel AML Index: Barbados, Samoa, Suriname and Swaziland. They were excluded from this year’s rating due to insufficient data. Sudan was added to the 2016 Basel AML Index as more data became available.

The methodology remains the same as the 2015 edition, when a key methodological adjustment was conducted. It takes into consideration the modifications brought to the assessment mechanism of the FATF Mutual Evaluation Reports. For the first time they include an effectiveness assessment in addition to the assessment of legal compliance with the FATF recommendations. While last year five countries were assessed according to the new FATF methodology, this year’s edition includes 14 countries with the new FATF Mutual Evaluation Reports as a source for the Basel AML Index.