The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed the Philippines from its heightened surveillance following a successful on-site visit, according to an announcement made on Friday 21 February at its plenary meeting.
The Philippines could therefore be removed from the EU’s list of high-risk third country jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/combating terrorist financing (AML/TF) regime (see EUROPE 13373/16). However, the process of updating the European ‘black’ list has been blocked since the European Parliament rejected the latest list in April 2024, because it opposed the removal of the United Arab Emirates from the list (see EUROPE 13397/2).
The FATF plenary also welcomed Kenya, which was invited to take part in the plenary and working groups, as part of the new guest initiative aimed at increasing inclusiveness and taking greater account of regional specificities within the FATF. Kenya joins the Cayman Islands and Senegal, which began participating in the guest initiative in October 2024. The suspension of the Russian Federation is maintained (see EUROPE 13513/5).
In addition, the FATF has added Laos and Nepal to the list of jurisdictions subject to enhanced surveillance, which means that these countries have committed to implementing an action plan to rapidly resolve their identified strategic deficiencies. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)