Question: Which of the following countries come under Financial Action Task Force (FATF) black list?
- Pakistan
- North Korea
- Russia
- Iran
Which of the following is /are correct?
(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 and 4
(c) 2,3 and 4
(d) 1,2 and 4
Answer:(b)
Context:
Recently, India has attended the virtual 32nd special Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) plenary meeting, under the aegis of the Financial Action Task Force.
About FATF:
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris.
- Its Secretariat is located at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris.
- The objectives of the FATF are to (a) set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures (b) for combating money laundering (c) terrorist funding and (d) other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
- Currently, the FATF comprises 37 member jurisdiction and 2 regional organisations representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe. India is one of the members.
FATF’S View on Crime amid Covid-19:
The FATF which is actively monitoring the impact of the pandemic on measures to combat illicit financing, released a paper on “Covid-19-related Money Laundering and Terrorist Funding Risks and Policy Responses”.
It observed an increase in the Covid-19 related crimes, including fraud, cyber-crime, misdirection or exploitation of government funds or international finance assistance.
Listing by FATF:
Grey List: Countries that are considered favourable for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
Black List: Countries known as Non-Cooperative are put in the blacklist. These countries support terror funding and money laundering activities. The FATF revises the blacklist regularly adding or deleting entries.
Status of Pakistan:
Pakistan, which continues to remain on the “grey list” of FATF, had earlier been given the deadline till the June 2020 to ensure compliance with the 27-point action plan against terror funding networks and money laundering syndicates, or face “black listing”.However, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the deadline has been shifted to October 2020.
Black list countries:
As at 21 February 2020, only two countries were on the FATF blacklist: North Korea and Iran.
By : Arpit Mishra
Link :
https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfgeneral/documents/plenary-february-2020.html#:~:text=On%20Sunday%2016%20February%2C%20more,FATF%20Week%20in%20Paris%2C%20France.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fatf-indian-officials-attend-virtual-eag-plenary-meet/article31871464.ece