The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) (see Note 1) has suspended Russia's membership and updated its list of jurisdictions with strategic Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Countering the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CPF) deficiencies, according to a news release issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Department of Treasury last week.
In addition, the FinCEN announced that on 24 February 2023, the FATF removed Cambodia and Morocco from its list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring and added South Africa and Nigeria to the list. Meanwhile, the FATF's list of High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action remains the same, with:
- Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) still subject to FATF's countermeasures; and
- Myanmar still subject to enhanced due diligence, not countermeasures.
"Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring" refers to jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies that have committed to address those deficiencies in an agreed upon timeline. "High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action" refers to the most serious cases needing countermeasures to protect the international financial system.
The FinCEN reminded US financial institutions to consider the "FATF's stance toward these jurisdictions when reviewing their obligations and risk-based policies, procedures, and practices" and to comply with the extensive US restrictions and prohibitions against opening or maintaining any correspondent accounts, directly or indirectly, for North Korean or Iranian financial institutions.
Note 1: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body that establishes international standards for:
- enhancing anti-money laundering procedures;
- countering the financing of terrorism; and
- countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Note 2: The FinCEN's mission is to safeguard the financial system from:
- illicit use;
- combatting money laundering and its related crimes including terrorism; and
- promoting national security through the strategic use of financial authorities and the collection, analysis and dissemination of financial intelligence.