Which of the following is NOT a core activity of the FATF?

The correct choice highlights that encouraging investment in financial markets is not a core activity of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF primarily focuses on combating money laundering and terrorist financing on a global scale. It achieves this through a variety of core activities, which include standard setting, assessing compliance with its recommendations, and analysing new technologies and trends that may impact the risk of financial crimes.

Standard setting involves establishing guidelines and standards that countries should follow to create a comprehensive framework for combating illicit financial activities. Assessing compliance is critical, as it helps to evaluate how well countries implement the FATF's recommendations to improve their financial systems' integrity. Additionally, analysing new technologies and trends is crucial to understand emerging risks in the financial sector and to ensure that the regulatory framework stays relevant in the face of developments such as digital currencies and online payment systems.

Encouraging investment, while important for economic growth, does not align with FATF's primary mission, which is focused on safeguarding the integrity of the financial system through regulation and cooperation among governments and financial institutions to combat threats to global financial security.