India's Vivek Aggarwal elected FATF Vice-President for 2026-27 term

The former FIU-IND chief and current Culture Secretary will serve as Vice-President of the global anti-money laundering watchdog from July 2026

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, has elected Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, as its Vice-President for the term from July 2026 to June 2027.

 

The decision was taken at the FATF Plenary held in Paris from June 17 to 19. Aggarwal will succeed Giles Thomson of the United Kingdom, who has served as FATF Vice-President since July 2025 and is set to assume the FATF Presidency from July 2026.

 

The Ministry of Culture said on X: "This landmark appointment places an Indian official at the helm of the premier global body standardising the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. It reflects the immense trust and credibility India has built across more than 200 jurisdictions, highlighting the nation's proactive role in shaping global policy on emerging risks like digital payments and virtual assets."

 

 

A 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Aggarwal has held several positions in the Union and state governments. He previously served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue and Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), where he led Indian delegations to FATF meetings. He also served as chief executive officer of the PM-KISAN scheme and was involved in rolling out the programme across the country. Earlier, he served for a long period as District Collector of Indore.

 

On his appointment, Aggarwal said, “This appointment is a recognition of India’s collective effort and of the strength of our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework. I am deeply honoured to serve, and look forward to working with the FATF Global Network to keep the international financial system safe, inclusive and resilient.”

 

According to the FATF, the June plenary approved priorities for the incoming UK Presidency and adopted changes to Recommendation 6 relating to humanitarian exemptions under targeted financial sanctions. The body also discussed issues related to public-private partnerships, payment transparency, terrorist financing through social media, underground banking, virtual assets and decentralised finance (DeFi).

 

The plenary removed Algeria and Namibia from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, commonly known as the "grey list". It also adopted mutual evaluation reports for Canada and Türkiye, which will be published separately.

 

Established by the G7 in 1989, the FATF is a Paris-based intergovernmental body that sets international standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The organisation's recommendations form the basis of anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing frameworks adopted by jurisdictions across the world.

 

India became a member of the FATF in 2010 and participates in the body's work on setting standards and assessing compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing measures. The FATF Presidency runs on a two-year term, and the Vice-President assists the President in carrying out the organisation's mandate.