North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar continue to remain on FATF's blacklist

Paris [France], October 25 (ANI): The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog against terror financing and money laundering, continued to list North Korea (DPRK), Iran, and Myanmar under blacklist as "high-risk jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action" for severe deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regimes.

The FATF identifies these nations as posing a significant risk to the international financial system because of persistent failures to address illicit financial activity.

The FATF regularly revises its list, but North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar have all remained on it. The public listing of these countries can incentivise financial institutions to shift resources away from them, in turn pressuring domestic actors to improve regulations to comply with FATF standards.

Myanmar was placed on the blacklist in October 2022 due to its failure to make sufficient progress on its action plan to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF is urging the country to address its deficiencies and notes that countermeasures may be considered if no further progress is made by October 2025.

"In October 2022, given the continued lack of progress and the majority of its action items still not addressed after a year beyond the action plan deadline, the FATF decided that further action was necessary in line with its procedures and FATF calls on its members and other jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence measures proportionate to the risk arising from Myanmar," the statement read.

While overall progress continues to be slow, Myanmar recently made progress regarding the management of seized assets to preserve their value until confiscation, but Myanmar should urgently work to implement its FATF action plan to address its strategic deficiencies.

The organisation further called on Myanmar to demonstrate enhanced use of financial intelligence in law enforcement authorities (LEAs) investigations, and increasing operational analysis and disseminations by the financial intelligence unit, ensure that ML is investigated/prosecuted in line with risks; demonstrate investigation of transnational ML cases with international cooperation, and also show an increase in the freezing/seizing and confiscation of criminal proceeds, instrumentalities, and/or property of equivalent value.

Myanmar will remain on the list of countries subject to a call for action until its full action plan is completed.

Iran has not completed its FATF action plan, which expired in 2018. Despite some legislative steps, including ratifying a law related to a UN terror financing convention in October 2025, the FATF maintains that key deficiencies remain unaddressed.

Since February 2020, Iran has reported in January, August and December 2024, and August 2025, with no material changes in the status of its action plan, the FTAF mentioned in an official statement. Given heightened proliferation financing risks, the FATF reiterates its call to apply countermeasures to these high-risk jurisdictions.

For Iran, while the FATF acknowledged the country's re-engagement with it to address deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime, it also noted that the country has failed to address the majority of the action plan it laid out to counter such illicit activities since 2016.

"Considering the United Nations Security Council Resolutions related to Iran's lack of compliance with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations, the FATF reminds all jurisdictions of their obligations under the FATF standards to address proliferation financing risks emanating from Iran," the statement read.

The FATF also reiterated its call to refuse the establishment of subsidiaries, branches, or representative offices of financial institutions from the country concerned (Iran), or otherwise to take into account that the relevant financial institution is from a country that does not have adequate AML/CFT systems. The Task Force also called for prohibiting financial institutions from establishing branches or representative offices in the country concerned, or otherwise taking into account the fact that the relevant branch or representative office would be in a country that does not have adequate AML/CFT systems.

"Iran will remain on the FATF High Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action statement until the full Action Plan has been completed. As the FATF previously stated, should Iran ratify and implement the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions, in line with the FATF standards," the statement read.

The FATF has continuously raised concerns over the DPRK's failure to address its AML/CFT deficiencies and the serious threats posed by its illegal activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and their financing.

The Task Force has called upon countries on the blacklist to implement targeted financial sanctions in accordance with UNSC Resolutions, to terminate correspondent relationships with DPRK banks, to close any subsidiaries or branches of DPRK banks in their countries, and to limit business relationships & financial transactions with DPRK persons. In an effort to protect their financial systems from the money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing threat emanating from the DPRK.

"Despite these calls, DPRK has increased connectivity with the international financial system, which raises proliferation financing (PF) risks," the FATF said in its statement.

"The FATF also urges countries to adequately assess and account for the increased proliferation financing risk with the greater financial connectivity reported, particularly since the next round of assessments requires countries to adequately assess PF risks under Recommendation 1 and Immediate Outcome 11," the statement read.

Notably, various countries, including Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lao PDR, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Vietnam, also had their progress reviewed by the FATF since 2025.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa have been removed from the greylist. (ANI)

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