Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

About Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

The FATF is a global watchdog that was founded to tackle money laundering initially but its role became prominent post the 9/11 terror attacks. Following the attacks, the FATF expanded its operations and included terror financing under its purview.
There are currently 39 members of the FATF; 37 jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations (the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Commission).
The FATF maintains two lists –
- a blacklist and a grey list.
Countries on its blacklist are those that the watchdog deems non-cooperative in the global effort to curb money laundering and terror-financing.
The grey list are officially referred to as ‘Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring’.
- 23 countries remain under watch.
- Among these countries are the Philippines, Syria, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Morocco, Jamaica, Cambodia, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan, and the tax havens of Barbados, Cayman Islands, and Panama.
It constitutes those nations that present significant risks of money laundering and terror-financing but which have committed to working closely with the FATF in the development and implementation of action plans that address their deficiencies.
If the country is not actively tackling money laundering or terror funding, it is then blacklisted.
So far, only two countries have been blacklisted, they are Iran and North Korea.