FATF to Hold June Plenary in Singapore
North Korea, Iran, Myanmar Remain on 'Blacklist'
Park Kwang, Head of Financial Intelligence Unit, to Attend Plenary
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) strongly condemned the expansion of military and financial cooperation between North Korea and Russia at its June plenary session. The photo shows North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding talks at the Kumsusan Guesthouse on the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News] Photo by Yonhap News
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) expressed strong concerns and condemnation at its June plenary session regarding the expansion of military and financial cooperation between North Korea and Russia. North Korea remains on the anti-money laundering 'blacklist' (high-risk countries).
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission announced on the 30th that the FATF held its June plenary session in Singapore, the chair country. At this session, the FATF maintained the high-risk country status for North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar, which have not met international standards. North Korea and Iran were classified as 'jurisdictions requiring countermeasures,' while Myanmar was classified as a 'jurisdiction requiring enhanced customer due diligence.'
The FATF expressed great concern and strongly condemned North Korea for escalating proliferation financing risks by recently strengthening financial and arms transactions with Russia. Proliferation financing refers to activities related to the funding of weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons.
The Korean delegation expressed strong concerns about Russia, whose FATF membership is suspended, strengthening mutual military and economic cooperation with North Korea. They emphasized that financial transactions with North Korea, which is subject to countermeasures, violate FATF member obligations. Previously, in February last year, the FATF condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and suspended its membership.
The FATF also urged Myanmar, which has made very insufficient efforts to comply with standards, to actively participate in international efforts to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing crimes. It warned that countermeasures could be imposed if improvements are not made by the next plenary session.
Asia-Pacific member countries including South Korea, Japan, India, and Indonesia proposed that FATF member countries cooperate to support Myanmar, considering its status as a developing country lacking sufficient resources to meet standards.
The FATF removed two countries, T?rkiye and Jamaica, from the existing enhanced follow-up list. Conversely, Monaco and Venezuela were newly added to the list, bringing the total to 21 countries. Monaco and Venezuela are subject to enhanced customer due diligence (EDD) and other measures under anti-money laundering regulations for financial institutions.
In July, the FATF plans to disclose the results of its review of member countries' imposition of anti-money laundering obligations on designated non-financial businesses and professions such as lawyers and accountants, as well as virtual asset service providers. This is because the role of gatekeepers in preventing and detecting money laundering is crucial.
Additionally, member countries reviewed the results of the 4th mutual evaluations of India and Kuwait and confirmed their efforts to establish systems and comply with standards to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
Park Kwang, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, requested continuous cooperation from member countries to diversify educational programs to revitalize 'Busan TRAIN,' an important FATF educational institution and a key asset of both the FATF and the Korean government. He specifically mentioned that to ensure the smooth implementation of the next round of mutual evaluations, the human and material resources of Busan TRAIN will be utilized importantly, and that close cooperation will be maintained with the new FATF chair and the FATF Secretariat's education team.
The next plenary session is scheduled to be held in October at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in France.
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