Nicaragua and Pakistan left the so-called gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this Friday, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Mozambique became part of that group of jurisdictions under special supervision due to their deficiencies.
At the end of a two-day plenary session held in Paris, the president of the FATF, Raja Kumar, stressed that Nicaragua “has taken steps” to correct the failures that had been detected and to comply with the action plan that was set for it in February 2020.
However, this agency noted that it is “very concerned about the possible misapplication” of the agency’s standards as they relate to the nonprofit sector regime.
In the case of Pakistan, the FATF also noted “significant progress” in complying with the action plans to correct the deficiencies identified in June 2018 and June 2021.
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The last of these plans has been completed before the deadline with the 34 points that had been indicated.
Kumar indicated that at the end of August there was a FATF visit to that country that was able to verify that there was “a high level of commitment” and “the will to continue making improvements in the future.”
The other side of the coin is the DRC, Tanzania and Mozambique, which become part of the 22 jurisdictions on that gray list that, according to the official definition, “are actively working with the FATF to correct strategic deficiencies” in their regimes. fight against money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Also on that list are Albania, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Haiti, Jamaica, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
Kumar issued a warning to Panama because, although there has been progress with regard to the device against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, in particular with “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” sanctions, it has not complied with several measures of its action plan, for which he had been given a deadline of January 2021.
In practice, he has been given an ultimatum to complete that action plan by February 2023.
Otherwise, the advisability of FATF members and the rest of the jurisdictions reinforcing supervision will be evaluated, with what this entails restricting business relations and transactions with Panama. EFE
