The Financial Action Task Force has made changes to its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring.
Following its plenary meeting in October, the task force added Bulgaria and removed Albania, Jordan, Panama and the Cayman Islands from its list of countries with deficiencies in their anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction policies.
FATF is an intergovernmental body that establishes and enforces international standards for AML/CFT/CPF. Countries under the jurisdiction under the increased monitoring list actively work with the task force to address their AML/CFT/CPF deficiencies.
Meanwhile, Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are still on the list of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action, which identifies nations that do not cooperate with international anti-money laundering principles. Both countries are subject to U.S. restrictions.
Burma also remains a high-risk jurisdiction and requires enhanced due diligence but is not subject to countermeasures. U.S. financial institutions should review existing Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network guidance on engaging with the Southeast Asian nation.
In addition, the task force continues to warn the financial industry to remain vigilant of Russia’s efforts to circumvent measures the international community has taken in response to its war against Ukraine. Russia’s membership in FATF was suspended in February.