In Paris last week, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), concluded its latest Plenary meeting with an announcement that only three countries now remain on the list of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCTs), now that The Cook Islands, Indonesia and the Philippines have been removed. The current NCCT list includes Myanmar, Nauru, and Nigeria.
The Task Force continues to use the NCCT process to call on financial institutions to scrutinise transactions with persons, businesses, or banks in listed countries with inadequate anti-money laundering infrastructures.
The FATF has published a Best Practices paper *(See link below)*on Special Recommendation IX, which provides guidance on detailed measures to stop cross-border movements of currency and monetary instruments related to terrorist financing and money laundering, and to confiscate such funds, as well as on enhanced information-sharing between countries on the movement of illicit cash related to terrorist financing or money laundering. When announcing the new measure at the conclusion of its last Plenary, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), described it as a key element to the world’s counter-terrorist financing defences.
At the Plenary which ended on Friday, the People’s Republic of China was welcomed for the first time, as an Observer. Mr. Jean-Louis Fort, President of the FATF said, *“It is both an honour and a privilege to welcome China to this FATF Plenary. It is a major step forward in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF looks forward to working with the Chinese authorities to achieve membership.”*