Counter Proliferation Finance: An Integral Piece Of The Nonproliferation Regime

This paper will introduce counterproliferation finance (CPF) measures and how they relate to the overall nonproliferation regime. CPF differs from other financial crime countermeasures like anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing and consists of a growing internationally networked, UN-led, response to state-level proliferation activities by financial sectors and other public and private institutions. With the passing of UNSCR 1540 and subsequent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance for national implementation, the international community’s response to preventing state proliferators from gaining access to financial systems for illicitly funding their acquisition of WMD technologies has evolved to include a focus on countering proliferation financing. This paper will describe how CPF fits into the broader nonproliferation regime as well as convey Argonne National Laboratory’s subject matter expertise and activities supporting CPF measures.