Four jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands and Morocco, will be more closely monitored as they are under pressure from a global watchdog to address shortcomings in their anti-money laundering efforts.
The Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based organization that sets standards for combating money laundering, added Burkina Faso, the Cayman Islands, Morocco and Senegal to its list of jurisdictions under enhanced surveillance on Thursday and joined in 15 other countries. The identified shortcomings vary by jurisdiction, but they include maintaining extensive beneficial ownership information and expanding the activities of countries’ financial intelligence units, the FATF said.
For example, the FATF said in a report that the Cayman Islands government should impose effective administrative sanctions and enforcement measures against entities involved in money laundering offenses, as well as implement adequate sanctions in cases where accurate and timely information about the beneficial owner is not provided.
“The Cayman Islands are an important financial center; we expect countries with higher risks, we expect proportionate measures against these risks, ”said FATF Chairman Marcus Pleyer at a virtual press conference Thursday.
If added to the so-called “gray list,” the four countries and territories will work with the FATF on plans to address identified shortcomings in their terrorist financing regimes within agreed timeframes and subject to additional controls, the FATF said.
Pakistan, another gray-listed country, has made significant progress in improving its frameworks to counter illegal financing, including by demonstrating that its law enforcement agencies detect and investigate terrorist financing activities and take enforcement action against violations of targeted financial sanctions, the FATF said in a report. But Pakistan will remain on the list for more surveillance; According to the FATF, the country still needs to address shortcomings related to terrorist financing.
The Cayman Islands monetary authority and Washington’s embassies for Morocco, Senegal and Pakistan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The FATF, which evaluates anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws in 205 jurisdictions around the world, said the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted country evaluations, making some of the assessments on the ground delayed.
“The FATF continues to monitor the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing related to Covid-19 financial crimes,” said Mr Pleyer.
However, the organization was able to discuss a virtual mutual evaluation report on New Zealand, Mr Pleyer said. After fourteen months of work, the watchdog found that New Zealand’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures are doing well, particularly in the areas of confiscation and recovery of criminal proceeds and international cooperation. But the country needs to focus on improving the availability of beneficial ownership information, according to the FATF.
The FATF also plans to release an update to its 2019 guideline on cryptocurrency regulations. Current guidelines require countries to adopt regulations requiring businesses in virtual currencies – including exchanges and wallet providers – to collect information about their customers and share it with other institutions, including other crypto companies, that receive money transfers.
The organization said that while the public and private sectors have made progress in implementing the necessary cryptocurrency-related measures, it also revealed a need for guidance to address specific areas. The FATF plans to publish the draft for public consultation in March and expects to adopt the final guidelines in June.
“We welcome the FATF’s actions to strengthen operational efforts to identify terrorist financiers and to develop additional guidelines for virtual assets and proliferation finance in consultation with the private sector, two major priorities of the United States,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a statement Thursday. .
Write to Mengqi Sun at [email protected]
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