FATF Adds Croatia, Cameroon, and Vietnam to Grey List for Anti-Money Laundering Deficiencies

The FATF said in a statement that Croatia, Cameroon and Vietnam had “strategic deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes. The task force said that Croatia had already made progress on its action plan, while Cameroon and Vietnam had committed to do so by mid-2021. The FATF said that it will continue to monitor the implementation of action plans by the three countries, and that it will take further action if progress is not made. The FATF also noted that it had placed Tunisia and Sri Lanka on its “enhanced follow-up” list for having a “strategic deficiency” in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes. The FATF urged the two countries to take action to address the deficiencies.

The FATF also said it had welcomed the Isle of Man’s “substantial progress” in improving its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework and said that the island has committed to further action to fully address its strategic deficiencies. The international financial crime watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has added EU member state Croatia, Cameroon, and Vietnam to its “grey list” of countries under special scrutiny. Croatia is now the only EU country on the list, which also includes the United Arab Emirates, Panama and Mali. The Paris-based FATF, which held one of its regular plenary meetings this week, is an inter-governmental organization that sets global standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

It assessed that the three countries added to the list had “strategic deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes. Meanwhile, Tunisia and Sri Lanka were placed on the FATF’s “enhanced follow-up” list for having a “strategic deficiency” in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes. The FATF urged the two countries to take action to address the deficiencies. Croatia, Cameroon, and Vietnam had already committed to an action plan to address the issues by mid-2021. The FATF said it will continue to monitor the implementation of the plans and that it will take further action if progress is not made. The FATF also welcomed the Isle of Man’s “substantial progress” in improving its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework. The island has committed to further action to fully address its strategic deficiencies. Finally, the FATF reiterated that “all jurisdictions should be vigilant to current and emerging risks from the circumvention of measures taken against the Russian Federation in order to protect the international financial system”. The task force had suspended Russia’s membership in February. The FATF is a key international body in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, actively ensuring that countries adhere to global standards. Its latest actions demonstrate that it is committed to its mission and will hold countries to account for failing to meet the requirements.