Financial Action Task Force

• The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization.

• It was established by the G-7 Summit that was held in Paris in 1989. Mr. Denis Samuel Lajeunesse of France was the first President of FATF.

• Its headquarters is in Paris, France.

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. The rise of the global economy and international trade has given rise to financial crimes such as money laundering.

• FATF was established to set out measures to be taken in the fight against money laundering. The Task Force was given the responsibility of examining money laundering techniques and trends, reviewing the existing anti-money laundering action, and setting out the measures that still needed to be taken to combat money laundering.

• As of 2022, there were 39 members of the Financial Action Task Force, including the United Nations and the World Bank.

• In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.

• Since 2000, FATF has maintained the FATF blacklist and the FATF greylist. Countries are known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are put on the blacklist. The FATF Plenary, the making body, meets three times a year around February, June, and October.  The FATF updates the blacklist regularly, adding or deleting entries.

• As of 1st January February 2022, North Korea and Iran are only two countries on the FATF blacklist.

• India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. On June 25, 2010, India was taken in as the 34th country member of FATF.