Global Terror Funding Watchdog Put Myanmar On "Black List"

Money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has put Myanmar on the "black list" and has called on members to apply enhanced due diligence to business relations...

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) under the watchdog on money laundering and terrorist financing has placed Myanmar on a "blacklist" and called on members to apply enhanced due diligence to Myanmar's trade relations and transactions.

Myanmar has entered the FATF's high-risk jurisdiction list, often referred to as the "blacklist".

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist,

Officially classified as high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call to action, they identify countries with weak regulatory frameworks to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

In February 2020, Myanmar committed to address its strategic shortcomings. The Myanmar Action Plan expired in September 2021.

In June 2022,

The FATF strongly urged Myanmar to quickly complete its action plan by October 2022 or the FATF will invite its members and urge all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence on trade relations and transactions with Myanmar.

The FATF said that in view of the continued lack of progress and the majority of its action items not yet taken up a year after the action plan deadline, the FATF decided that further action was necessary in line with its procedures.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has called on its members and other jurisdictions to implement enhanced due diligence measures commensurate with the risks arising from Myanmar.

The FATF, when implementing enhanced due diligence measures, advised countries to ensure that money flows for humanitarian assistance, legitimate non-profit organization activities and remittances are not disrupted.

She added that Myanmar should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address these shortcomings, including demonstrating an improved understanding of money laundering risks in key areas, demonstrating that on-site/off-site inspections are risk-based, and Indian operators are recorded and supervised. .

Furthermore it,

He urged Myanmar to demonstrate enhanced use of financial intelligence in Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) investigations, and increased operational analysis and dissemination by Financial Intelligence Units (FIU).

In addition, the FATF urged Myanmar to ensure that money laundering is investigated/prosecuted in line with the risks;

Demonstrate investigation of transnational money laundering cases with international cooperation; Demonstrate an increase in the freezing/seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime, tools and/or property of equivalent value; Managing the seized assets to maintain the value of the seized goods until their confiscation;

Proof of implementation of targeted financial sanctions related to Proliferation Financing (PF).

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