International terrorism has been a topical issue that caught the UN’s attention since the last quarter of the twentieth century. However, the UN initially dealt with it as an internal matter. In this regard, terrorism has become a global threat with the emergence of terrorist organizations. These organizations are not limited to a specific geographical scope; some of them are linked to countries, while others seek to occupy territories in order to control the oil wells and even create armies. They cannot continuously conduct their activities without financial support that provides it with the means to implement its plans and the resources to finance its field and logistical operations in all forms. One of the most important sources of financing terrorist and their organizations is money laundering operations. This research is to analyze the UN’s role in combating money laundering to prevent terrorist acts around the globe.

Transnational money laundering is a global issue that requires international solutions. This paper examines the concept of Free Movement of Judgments which should be realized in the legal integration process of the ASEAN in order to overcome the negative impacts of money laundering. This research will analyze the regulation for criminalizing money laundering in the ASEAN and compare it with the criminal cooperation in the European Union. The ASEAN Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLAT 2004) is expected to be an alternative to an extradition treaty. If adopting the Free Movement of Judgements, judicial decisions of an ASEAN member country regarding transnational crimes of money laundering would be recognized and implemented in other member’s jurisdiction reciprocally. This adoption is expected to be an effective solution to overcome impunity in cross-border money laundering actors.