Four jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands and Morocco, will be subject to increased monitoring as they face pressure from a global watchdog to address the shortcomings of their anti-money laundering efforts.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, which sets anti-money laundering law standards, on Thursday added Burkina Faso, the Cayman Islands, Morocco and Senegal to its list of jurisdictions under increased supervision, joining 15 other countries. The deficiencies identified vary for each jurisdiction, but include the maintenance of comprehensive beneficial ownership information and the expansion of countries ‘financial intelligence units’ operations, according to the FATF.
For example, the FATF said in a report that the Cayman Islands government must impose effective administrative sanctions and enforcement actions against entities involved in money laundering violations, as well as enforce appropriate sanctions in cases where no information is provided. accurate and timely ownership.
“The Cayman Islands are an important financial center; we expect countries with higher risks, we expect proportionate measures against these risks, “FATF President Marcus Pleyer told a virtual news conference on Thursday.
Adding to the so-called “gray list” means that the four countries and territories will work with the FATF on plans to address the shortcomings identified in their terrorist financing regimes within the agreed deadlines and subject to additional controls, the FATF said.
Pakistan, another gray-list country, has made significant progress in improving its anti-illicit funding frameworks, including by demonstrating that its law enforcement agencies have identified and investigated terrorist financing activities and taken enforcement action against violations of financial sanctions. targeted, the FATF said in a report. But Pakistan will remain on the list for increased monitoring; the country has yet to address its funding shortfalls, according to the FATF.
The monetary authority of the Cayman Islands and the Washington embassies for Morocco, Senegal and Pakistan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The FATF, which evaluates anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws in 205 jurisdictions around the world, said the Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on its assessments of countries, delaying some of its on-the-spot analyzes.
“The FATF continues to monitor the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing related to Covid-19 financial crimes,” Mr Pleyer said.
However, the organization was virtually unable to discuss a mutual evaluation report on New Zealand, Mr Pleyer said. After 14 months of work, the watchdog found that New Zealand’s measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing were working well, especially in the areas of confiscation and recovery of criminal revenues and international cooperation. But the country needs to focus on improving the availability of beneficial ownership information, according to the FATF.
The FATF also intends to launch an update of its 2019 guide to cryptocurrency regulations. The current guide stipulates that countries should adopt regulations requiring virtual foreign exchange companies – including exchange and wallet providers – to collect information about their customers and share it with other institutions, including other cryptocurrency firms, that receive remittances.
The organization said that while the public and private sectors have made progress in implementing the necessary measures related to cryptocurrencies, it also revealed the need for guidance to address specific areas. The FATF intends to publish the draft in March for public consultation and expects to approve the final guidelines in June.
“We welcome the FATF’s efforts to intensify operational efforts to identify terrorist financiers and develop additional guidance in consultation with the private sector on virtual assets and financing proliferation, two key US priorities,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen statement on Thursday.
Write to Mengqi Sun at [email protected]
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