Page 2 - Fatf

India to adopt nuanced approach to deal with at risk NPOs after FATF report

India on Thursday said it will adopt a "nuanced" approach to deal with "at risk" non-profit organisations (NPOs), an issue raised by the global crime watchdog FATF in its report which has otherwise appreciated India for its efforts to tackle terror financing and money laundering. Additional Secretary (Revenue), Finance Ministry, Vivek Agarwal said India has excelled on 6 'immediate outcomes' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including in risk, policy and coordination, international cooperation, financial intelligence, confiscation and proliferation financing. On the five other parameters, including abuse of NPOs and terror financing sanctions, as well as prosecution of money laundering and terror financing cases India has got a medium rating. As regards the abuse of NPOs for terror financing, Agarwal said the scope for NPOs being misused is very less in India because there is a cap on cash donations. "We were trying to make a case that regulatory framework is good enough..

India should establish clear obligations for domestic PEPs: FATF

Global body says non-profit sector requires protection from terror

ED gets max tip offs for money laundering from media, social sites: FATF

Open source inputs like media reports, social media comments, tip offs and complaints form the bulk of information that leads the ED to identify potential money laundering cases, the FATF said on Thursday in its latest mutual evaluation report for India. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which steers the combat against money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, also lauded India's systems and regime created for this battle as it asked the country to bring about "major improvements" to strengthen prosecution in such cases. "The largest number of money laundering investigations are identified by ED (Enforcement Directorate) from open sources; from the general public, media reporting and information from social networks followed by verification of the information via the CCTNS (crime and criminal tracking network and systems) database and money laundering reports by LEAs (law enforcement agencies)," the report said. The FATF said the ED uses "seven avenues" to identify ...

FATF praises India's PMLA, terror financing; asks to improve prosecution

Global anti-money laundering and terror financing body FATF on Thursday launched its much-awaited mutual evaluation report on India, saying the county's systems were "effective" but "major improvements" were required to strengthen prosecution in these cases. The 368-page report was released after the assessment was adopted by the Paris-headquartered body at its June plenary meeting. The last such review of India's combating of money laundering and terror financing regime was published in 2010. The report, which comes after an on-site visit of FATF experts to India last November, has placed the country in the "regular follow up" category, a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries. India will undergo its next evaluation in 2031. The report said India implemented such an anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terror (CFT) system that was effective in many respects. It, however, said "major improvements" were required to strengthen the prosecution in money

India pitches for more info sharing on cross-border payments at FATF

At present, under the Travel Rules of FATF, data relating to the name of the sender, recipient, and the country of origin is recorded in any cross-border financial transactions

Govt pitches for more disclosures on cross-border payments with FATF

India is pitching for greater disclosures by fintech firms, credit card companies and payment aggregators (PAs) at the Financial Action Task Force whereby the sender and recipient in a cross-border financial transaction can be identified and shared with law enforcement agencies as and when sought. Currently, the Travel Rules of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) under which data relating to name of sender and recipient and the country of origin is recorded in any cross-border financial transactions. The policy development group (PDG) of the FATF is now deliberating on whether the required information is clearly available to law enforcement agencies or does the information gets masked in any form. Masking of information leads to delay in information sharing by financial institutions involved in cross-border transactions with law enforcement agencies. "The debate is whether the standards need to be tweaked further so that information can be clearly provided in case of cross-border wir

Crime watchdog FATF to release mutual evaluation report of India on Sep 19

Global crime watchdog FATF will highlight the steps taken by India to counter terror financing and money laundering, and flag priority action areas in the 'mutual evaluation report' to be released on September 19, official sources said on Tuesday. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had in June adopted the mutual evaluation report on India and placed the country in the "regular follow-up" category -- the highest rating given by the global watchdog and a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries. Countries rated under the 'regular follow-up category' are required to submit a follow-up report to the FATF once in three years on a voluntary basis. Out of 40 parameters looked into by the FATF, India received the highest rating in 37 parameters, official sources said. "Priority action points will be given by the FATF in the September 19 report," sources said, adding that on most of the parameters, India would be getting a positive rating in the report, while there would be f

Decoded: Buna-Raast connectivity project between Pakistan-Arab world

Raast is Pakistan's first instant payment system, which operates similarly to India's flagship project: Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

FATF calls on India to boost scrutiny of politicians' bank accounts

The recommendation is part of a FATF review of India's anti-money laundering systems that began in 2023

Singapore gets tough on casinos in new measures to check terrorism funding

Casinos in Singapore will soon face tighter rules on conducting due diligence checks when receiving cash as part of updated measures to counter terrorism financing, the country's gambling regulatory body said on Monday. Due diligence checks will have to be carried out when casinos receive a cash deposit of SGD 4,000 (USD 2,950) or more into a customer's account - down from the current threshold of SGD 5,000. The new threshold for due diligence checks was among the measures laid out in Singapore's updated National Strategy for Countering the Financing of Terrorism, jointly published on Monday by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). "The adjustment is made so that Singapore casinos can better combat money laundering and terrorism financing and align our requirements with FATF standards," the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) said. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a global money laundering and ...

High level of technical compliance, but follow-up needed: FATF on India

Finmin says it demonstrates the overall stability and integrity of the financial system

'India Inc can cut paperwork to raise overseas funds with good FATF rating'

The good FATF rating obtained by India will enable domestic companies to access overseas investments without going through elaborate background checks and enhanced due diligence process, highly placed sources said. The global crime watchdog, FATF on Friday adopted mutual evaluation report on India and placed the country in "regular follow-up" category. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) hailed India for achieving high level of technical compliance. It said the country's efforts towards anti-money laundering (AML) and countering of terror financing (CFT) are achieving good results. Sources said good rating by FATF means that the financial system and AML/CFT framework is robust. "Indian companies accessing investments abroad will not be required to go through elaborate background checks and enhanced due diligence measures applicable to jurisdictions not placed in regular follow-up," a highly placed source said. FATF places member countries in any of the four categories - regular

UAE poised to exit global watchdog FATF's 'grey list' after reform push

The UAE is expected to come off the list on Feb. 23, which is the final day of the FATF plenary in Paris, the people said. No final decisions have been made

RBI gives clarity to 'politically exposed persons' term to meet FATF norms

They are individuals entrusted with prominent public functions by a foreign country, including the heads of states or governments

FATF removes offshore tax haven Cayman Islands from its 'grey list'

In its review published on October 27, FATF has added Bulgaria to the grey list

Updating the tax haven debate

In a comprehensive analysis of black money, R Vaidyanathan's book explores the intricacies of its generation, the impact of tax havens, and the role of global initiatives

Is India misusing laws to crack down on NGOs, think tanks? FATF to probe

A team from the FATF is expected to visit India in November and meet representatives of non-profit organisations, including international ones, to get a first-hand understanding of the situation

Centre allays concerns of opposition-ruled states over ED-GSTN info sharing

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on Tuesday allayed concerns of several opposition ruled states on the changes made in the money laundering law stating that the amendments were required to meet the obligations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF is an inter-governmental body which sets standards and develops and promotes policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. India became its member in 2010. Responding to the concerns raised by opposition ruled states like Delhi and Punjab at the GST Council meeting, Malhotra said it was clarified that the changes will empower tax authorities with more information and "I think all of them (state ministers) were quite satisfied with the explanation". The finance ministry, through a notification, brought in an amendment to the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as per which GSTN, which handles the technology backbone of Goods and Services Tax, has been included in the list of entities

Pak defiant, allows fundraising to promote terror, facilitates infiltration

Pakistan's removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Grey List in October 2022 came with the assurance that it would fall in line and cease support for terrorism

Indian regulators step up scrutiny ahead of FATF review in Nov: Report

The Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental organisation to combat money laundering, is due to conduct an onsite review of India's regulations and supervision in November