Counter-Terrorist Financing
Counter-Terrorist Financing — also written CFT — is the legal and regulatory framework that prevents funds, whether of legitimate or criminal origin, from being used to support terrorism. In the UK, CTF obligations sit alongside AML obligations within MLR 2017 and the Terrorism Act 2000, which makes it an offence to provide, receive, or use funds for terrorist purposes.
accountants meet CTF obligations through the same control framework as AML — CDD, screening, monitoring, and SAR reporting. Sanctions and PEP screening lists include designated terrorist organisations and individuals, so a single screening pass typically covers both AML and CTF risk.
How different roles use Counter-Terrorist Financing
A good definition should change the next action for the person reading it.
Partner or director
Check whether this term affects acceptance risk, fee scope, supervision exposure, or sign-off responsibility.
ContinueMLRO or compliance lead
Map the term to evidence, escalation, monitoring, training, and inspection readiness.
ContinueClient-facing team member
Use the plain-English explanation to ask better client questions and write clearer file notes.
ContinueOther terms that go with Counter-Terrorist Financing
Terrorist financing is the provision or collection of funds with the intention or knowledge that they will be used, in whole or in part, to carry out a terrorist act. Unlike money laundering — where the underlying funds are criminal in origin — terrorist financing can involve legitimately sourced money. Both money laundering and terrorist financing are covered by MLR 2017 and the Terrorism Act 2000.
Anti-Money Laundering refers to the laws, regulations, and procedures designed to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income. In the UK, the primary framework is the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), which applies to accountants, lawyers, estate agents, and certain financial businesses.
Sanctions screening is the process of checking clients, their beneficial owners, and associated parties against official sanctions lists maintained by bodies such as the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Acting for a sanctioned individual or entity is a criminal offence.
Before you treat Counter-Terrorist Financing as handled
- Confirm which regulation, policy, or internal procedure the term maps to.
- Document the decision or evidence trail in the client file, not only in email or chat.
- Escalate where the term indicates higher risk, sanctions exposure, PEP status, suspicion, or missing evidence.
- Keep the wording consistent across onboarding, review notes, training material, and inspection packs.
Put Counter-Terrorist Financing into practice with Certivus
Knowing the term is the first step. Certivus gives you the workflows — client intake, CDD, EDD, PEP and sanctions screening, audit-ready records — to apply it across every client.
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