Croatia Added to FATF "Grey List" Alongside Cameroon and Vietnam

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international financial crime watchdog, announced on Friday that it has added Croatia, an EU member state, to its "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny for deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts.

Croatia is now the only EU country on the list, which already includes nations like the United Arab Emirates, Panama, and Mali. In response to this development, T. Raja Kumar, the chairman of FATF, stated that Croatia has committed to an action plan to improve its compliance and urged the country to implement the plan promptly.

The action plan outlined by Croatia includes assessing risks related to the misuse of legal entities and arrangements, as well as the use of cash in the real estate sector. The FATF, based in Paris, serves as an inter-governmental organization that establishes global standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing, while also monitoring countries' adherence to these standards.

During the plenary meeting held this week, the FATF also emphasized the need for all jurisdictions to remain vigilant against the circumvention of measures taken against Russia to safeguard the international financial system. Russia's membership in the FATF was suspended in February.

Additionally, the FATF noted that no current member of the grey list has been removed following the June meeting.

By fLEXI tEAM