FATF called for enhanced due diligence on Myanmar following blacklist: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has called on its members to apply enhanced due diligence measures proportionate to the risk arising from Myanmar. The move comes after Myanmar was put on the ‘High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action’ category – commonly known as blacklist countries.

Earlier in February 2020, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran was put on blacklist by the anti-terror financing and anti-money laundering watchdog.

“When applying enhanced due diligence measures, countries have been advised to ensure that flows of funds for humanitarian assistance, legitimate NPO activity and remittances are not disrupted,” RBI said citing FATF advisory on October 21.

As per the October 21, 2022 FATF public statement, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania have now been added to this list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring – commonly known as grey list – while Nicaragua and Pakistan have been removed from this list based on review by the FATF.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the ministers of its member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.