THE TRANSFORMATION OF STATE GOVERNANCE IN FRANCE’S ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING SYSTEM: FROM CRIMINAL-PROCEEDS CONTROL TO MULTI-LEVEL AML/CFT GOVERNANCE (1970–2026)

Abstract

This article examines the development and structural transformation of France’s national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (hereinafter “AML/CFT”) system from 1970 to 2026. The subject of the study is the evolution of the systemic characteristics of the French AML/CFT system, specifically the determinants of its development, the objectives of legal regulation, its institutional architecture, the distribution of functional roles, and the mechanisms for ensuring a balance between the tasks of combating financial crime and the legal constraints on state intervention.The methodological basis of the study consists of historical-institutional and structural-functional analysis, conducted on the basis of legislation and preparatory materials, using a five-dimensional analytical model proposed by the author, which encompasses: Determinants—the problems, threats, and external and internal factors that, according to legislative and preparatory materials, led to legislative changes; Telos—regulatory objectives and expected outcomes that the legislature sought to achieve; Institutional Architecture—the system of bodies, entities, levels, and institutional links established by regulatory frameworks to achieve defined objectives; Role Dynamics— the distribution and transformation of functions, competencies, and roles of public and private actors, as well as the nature of their interaction; Rights–Constraints— guarantees of rights, procedural safeguards, and legal limits on the exercise of authority and oversight powers.On this basis, seven stages in the development of the French AML/CFT system have been identified, and its transformation from sectorally distinct criminal law, property law, and supervisory mechanisms to a polycentric, risk-based, information-integrated, and multi-level model of AML/CFT governance has been traced.It is concluded that the development of the French AML/CFT system is characterized not by the displacement of the state by private or supranational actors, but by a change in the subject, methods, and levels of implementation of its system-forming function in the context of the transition to supranationally embedded multi-level AML/CFT governance.The results of this study can be used for a comparative analysis of national AML/CFT systems, for evaluating their institutional design, and for examining the relationship between governance structure and effectiveness.Keywords: AML/CFT system, financial intelligence, TRACFIN, risk-based approach, AML/CFT governance, information integration, legal safeguards, supranational integration.