FATF Maintains "Blacklist" Status for North Korea and Iran

The Financial Intelligence Unit of the Financial Services Commission and five other organizations announced on June 15 that they attended the 34th Plenary Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), held from June 10 to 13 at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

The Korean delegation was led by Yoon Yeongeun, Director of Institutional Operations Planning at the Financial Intelligence Unit, and included a total of nine representatives from the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prosecutors’ Office, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Institute of Finance.

The FATF is an international organization established in 1989 with the aim of preventing money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT). It consists of 40 members, including 38 countries such as the United States, China, and Japan, as well as international organizations like the European Commission.

Member states classified Iran and North Korea as "high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action" at this meeting, the same as in the February session this year. Myanmar remains in the same category but will retain its status as a "jurisdiction subject to enhanced due diligence."

In addition, for the "jurisdictions under increased monitoring," the FATF added Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands to the list, while removing Croatia, Tanzania, and Mali from the previous 25 countries, resulting in a total of 24 countries now on the list.

The FATF also approved an amendment to Recommendation 16. The revised standard will clarify information on both the originator and beneficiary for cross-border payments exceeding 1,000 USD or EUR, which is expected to improve crime detection and the implementation of sanctions.

Yoon Yeongeun, the head of the delegation, stated, "We welcome the amendment of Recommendation 16 to increase transparency in payment systems," adding, "With the revision of FATF standards, unconditional cooperation and support from global payment infrastructure providers, whose superior status has been further strengthened, are essential for payment service providers in each country to fulfill their obligations under Recommendation 16."

Additionally, the FATF gave final approval to a project report aimed at understanding complex proliferation financing and sanction evasion techniques. The organization also proposed to provide tailored training programs to help member countries implement FATF standards.