FATF adds four countries to list of jurisdictions under increased AML monitoring
The list comprises countries that have given a formal undertaking to resolve their deficiencies within an agreed time. FATF is monitoring them to ensure they do so. Until the FATF plenary meeting, the list consisted of Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Croatia, Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.
The four jurisdictions named above were added at the 23–25 October 2024 plenary session. FATF has set out an action plan for each to improve their AML measures and meet international standards.
Algeria's action plan consists of improving risk-based supervision, especially for higher risk sectors; developing an effective framework for basic and beneficial ownership information; improving its suspicious transaction reporting regime; legislating for targeted financial sanctions against terrorism financing; and implementing a risk-based approach to oversight of non-profit organisations.
Angola must improve its understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks; improve risk-based supervision of non-financial businesses and banking entities; arrange for legal authorities' access to beneficial ownership; demonstrate an increase in money laundering and terrorist financing investigations; and implement targeted financial sanctions without delay.
Cote d'Ivoire's action plan is similar to Angola's, but also includes the need to improve cooperation in international investigations and strengthen its financial sanctions framework.
Lebanon's list of obligations is the longest, partly, as FATF acknowledges, because of its 'challenging social, economic and security situation'. At least ten actions are required before it can apply to be removed from supervision. These actions include the immediate implementation of targeted financial sanctions, particularly at designated non-financial businesses and professions and certain non-banking financial institutions. FATF also recommends the jurisdiction improves asset recovery and identifying and seizing illicit cross-border movements of currency.
At the same time, Senegal was removed from the list and is no longer subject to increased monitoring, having implemented the ten action points identified in a mutual evaluation report in February 2021.
FATF also adopted new mutual evaluation reports for Argentina and Oman at the plenary session, which for the first time was attended by a guest Cayman Islands delegation.
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