The Financial Action Task Force’s ( FATF )’s ) criteria for including nations on its lists have undergone significant changes. These changes are intended to lower the stress on the least developed nations while concentrating on those nations that pose the greatest threat to the global financial system.
The FATF interacts with nations that have proper deficiencies in their anti-money fraud, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation funding techniques. The FATF and appropriate Regional Bodies job with these countries to close the gaps that facilitate illicit financial flows through a peer-led approach. These flows energy devastating acts such as human trafficking, child sexual abuse, and deeds of evil designed to cause death and suffering, according to the declaration released by FATF.
The most heavily impacted by the effects of unlawful financial flows, which prevent sustainable development, are the least developed nations. Every year, tax evasion, fraud, and organized crime result in billions of dollars being diverted from important people items like education and health. It is crucial to assist these nations in developing solid economies and cultures by preventing criminals from obtaining their illicit gains.
The changes made by the FATF may improve the targeting of the countries that pose the greatest threat to the global financial system and give low-capacity nations more adequate support.
If states meet the appointment standards and are:
- An FATF Member,
- a nation that is included in the World Bank’s record of High-Income nations ( as opposed to those with a financial market of two or fewer businesses ),
- a nation with financial sector assets exceeding USD 10 billion ( based on broad money ). Least developed nations, as defined by the United Nations, will not be prioritized for active assessment unless the FATF agrees that they pose a major money laundering, criminal funding, or development funding danger. In such circumstances, least developed nations entering the evaluation process may get given a longer assessment period of two years to work on their Key Recommended Action strategy development.
These adjustments will be made in the upcoming round of evaluations, and the FATF anticipates that these adjustments could probably reduce the number of low-capacity nations being included in the future examination period by half.
The countries on the FATF dark record are- Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Croatia, Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.