FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Countries 2023

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization tasked with monitoring countries and organizations suspected of fraudulent financial practices, such as money laundering, funding terrorist groups, or financing weapons of mass destruction. Countries in the FATF can advise the organization regarding suspect financial dealings in other countries, such as public corruption within the government, inadequate efforts to prevent fraudulent economic activity, and the financing of terrorist activities.

As of late 2022, the FATF comprises 39 full members, including 37 countries and two "regional organizations", the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The membership of organizations can be slightly confusing, as the countries within those organizations may or may not be full FATF members in their own right. For example, while Saudi Arabia is a member of both the GCC and the FATF, fellow GCC member countries such as Qatar and Bahrain are not members of the FATF. However, because the GCC as a whole is a FATF member, those countries are still committed to implementing the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) measures agreed to by the FATF Members and outlined in the FATF Recommendations.

Countries and Non-Country Entities That Are Members of the FATF:

FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs)

In order to better monitor and guide the global financial market, FATF works extensively alongside a global network of nine FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs). Countries that are not members of FATF, but that do hold membership in an FSRB, can be trusted to obey roughly similar guidelines in regard to international financial dealings. A list of FSRBs is below, and a full matrix of which countries belong to each FSRB can be seen further down this page.

The FATF "grey list" and "black list"

If the FATF identifies significant deficiencies in a country's financial dealings or guidelines, the offending country may be placed by the FATF into one of two warning categories. The first, informally known as the "grey list", is Jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies, alternately known as Jurisdictions under increased monitoring. These are countries whose systems for countering money laundering and other financial misdeeds need to improve, and which are working alongside the FATF to improve them.

The second category, informally known as the "black list", is technically titled High-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action. These are countries which were previously placed on the grey list and advised by the FATF to adopt the recommended financial security procedures, but have either failed or refused to do so. Blacklisted countries may be labeled as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs). The FATF advises other countries to "apply enhanced due diligence measures" (which is to say, be extra careful) in financial dealings with these countries, as those dealings may not be entirely legal or fair.

Countries on the FATF grey list (as of Oct. 2022):

Countries on the FATF black list (as of Oct. 2022):

All three countries on the FATF black list in 2022 were placed there due to evidence of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activity.