The FATF has updated its grey listing criteria to prioritize nations that pose significant risks to the global financial system.
International
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated its criteria for placing countries on its grey list. The main goal of these changes is to lessen the burden on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and to concentrate on nations that pose significant risks to the global financial system.
- FATF observed that LDCs are deeply impacted by illicit financial flows, which hinders sustainable development.
- Every year, billions of dollars from vital public services like education and health are lost to crime, tax evasion, and corruption. Therefore, it is very important to deprive criminals of their ill-gotten gains to help these countries develop strong economies and societies.
Main Points:- (i) According to the revised criteria, countries will be prioritized for active review if they meet specific referral conditions and are classified as members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), recognized as High Income Countries (HIC) by the World Bank—excluding those with two or fewer banks in their financial sector—and possess financial sector assets exceeding USD 10 billion, as measured by broad money.
(ii) The Grey List includes countries that have significant weaknesses in their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) systems.
(iii) Currently, the countries on the grey list include: Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Croatia, Kenya, Congo, Haiti, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yemen.
About the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
President: Elisa de Anda Modrazo
Headquarters: Paris
____________________________
