FATF OCTOBER UPDATES, INCLUDING UPDATED GREY LISTS

The FATF plenary is a meeting of the FATF members and observers that takes place three times a year to discuss and decide on key issues related to combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing1. The last FATF plenary was held on 25-27 October 2023 in Paris, under the presidency of T. Raja Kumar of Singapore.

Some of the primary outcomes of the October 2023 plenary were:

• The adoption of a report on crowdfunding for terrorism financing, which provides an overview of the risks, challenges and good practices for authorities and crowdfunding platforms to prevent and detect the misuse of this sector by terrorists and their supporters.
• The revision of Recommendation 8 clarifies the measures that countries should apply to non-profit organisations (NPOs) to prevent them from being abused for terrorist financing purposes. The revised Recommendation 8 also recognises the critical role that NPOs play in society and the need to protect their legitimate activities.
• The agreement on amendments to the FATF Recommendations will strengthen the tools available for countries to confiscate and recover the proceeds of crime, especially in cross-border cases. The amendments will also enhance the transparency and accountability of beneficial ownership information for legal persons and arrangements.
• The adoption of reports on illicit financial flows from cyber-enabled fraud and the misuse of citizenship and residency by investment programmes, which analyse the vulnerabilities and risks posed by these emerging trends and provide guidance for countries and private sector actors to mitigate them.
• The release of a report on asset recovery networks (ARINs), informal networks of practitioners that facilitate international cooperation and information exchange in pursuing transnational money laundering cases. The report provides recommendations for strengthening the roles and use of ARINs in global asset recovery efforts.
• The welcome of Indonesia as the 40th member of the FATF, following its successful completion of the mutual evaluation process and its demonstration of a solid commitment to implement the FATF Standards.
• The discussion of the joint FATF-GAFILAT assessment of Brazil, which evaluated the country’s level of compliance with the FATF Recommendations and its effectiveness in addressing money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks. The assessment report will be published in November 2023 after a quality and consistency review.

FATF Jurisdictions no Longer under Increased Monitoring and off the grey list

• Albania,
• Cayman Islands,
• Jordan and
• Panama

GREY LIST = Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring 

• Jurisdictions under increased monitoring are actively working with the FATF to address the strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to implement an Action Plan to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes. At this Plenary, the FATF added Bulgaria to the list of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring. 
• Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring - 27 October 2023 https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Increased-monitoring-october-2023.html

These countries have made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and its regional bodies to address their strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and are subject to increased monitoring

The FATF does not call for the application of enhanced due diligence measures to be applied to these jurisdictions, but encourages its members and all jurisdictions to take into account the information presented in its statement in their risk analysis.

BLACKLIST = Jurisdictions subject to a call for action

• FATF identifies countries or jurisdictions with serious strategic deficiencies to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. These jurisdictions are subject to a call for action to protect the international financial system. No new countries/jurisdictions were added to this list.
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) &
• Iran &
• Myanmar
• High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action – 27 October 2023
• https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Call-for-action-october-2023.html

The next FATF Plenary will be held in February 2024.

Source

• https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/fatf-week-october-2023.html
• https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-october-2023.html