FATF removes Bulgaria, Congo, Ivory Coast and Monaco but leaves Vietnam on 'grey list'

The global Financial ​Action Task Force watchdog on ​Friday removed Bulgaria, Ivory ‌Coast, Congo and ​Monaco from its "grey list" of countries that need increased monitoring in terms of their ‌efforts to tackle money laundering and financial crime.

The agency cited the countries' "positive progress in addressing strategic anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and ‌proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) deficiencies identified during their mutual evaluations." When the FATF places ‌a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring, according ⁠to the ​agency’s website.

The agency ⁠left Vietnam on the grey list, however, and expressed significant concern with Vietnam’s pace ⁠of progress. “The FATF will consider next steps if Vietnam does not ​make tangible improvements to rectify its strategic deficiencies by the next Plenary ⁠meeting,” it said.

The agency also left Iran and Myanmar on its black list, while ⁠reinforcing ​the warning against Myanmar. Reuters reported earlier in the day that Japan is pushing the global financial crimes watchdog to remove ⁠Myanmar from its blacklist to make it easier to do business there. FATF’s black ⁠list identifies ⁠countries or jurisdictions with serious strategic deficiencies to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation, according to ‌its website.