Here are the key outcomes from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting held from February 22-24, 2023:
👉 The FATF has suspended the membership of the Russian Federation.
👉 Indonesia’s Mutual Evaluation report highlighted the country’s strong legal, regulatory and institutional framework, but also noted the need to focus more on pursuing larger scale money launderers and enhancing asset confiscation.
👉 Qatar’s Mutual Evaluation report recognized the significant improvements made in its AML/CFT regime, while calling for better law enforcement response to ML/TF and the use of financial intelligence. It also urged the improvement of the availability and access to beneficial ownership information by law enforcement and competent authorities.
👉 Jurisdictions under increased monitoring have changed, with South Africa and Nigeria added, and Cambodia and Morocco removed.
👉 The list of jurisdictions subject to a call for action remains unchanged.
👉 The FATF plenary has finalized guidance for countries on the revised requirements of Recommendations 24 and 25 relating to beneficial ownership information.
👉 The FATF will publish a report on “Disrupting the financial flows from ransomware” in March 2023.
👉 The plenary agreed on a roadmap to strengthen the implementation of Recommendation 15 for Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), including the “travel rule”.
👉 The FATF finalized a report on “Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Art and Antiquities Markets”.
👉The plenary selected Mr. Jeremy Weil from Canada as the next FATF Vice President, serving from 2023 to 2025.
