FATF to release Mutual Evaluation Report on India on September 19
Sep 10, 2024
By Shailesh Yadav
New Delhi [India], September 10 : The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will release the Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) on India on September 19, Government sources told ANI.
Mutual evaluation is done every 10 years. India become the member of FATF in 2010. FATF is the global watchdog formed in 1989 on money laundering and terrorist financing.
India's MER was adopted in June 2024 plenary of FATF which was concluded in June in Singapore. The plenary concluded that India has reached a high level of technical compliance with FATF requirements.
In June India joined the UK, France, Italy and other G20 group of countries which have been accorded 'regular follow-up' category by FATF.
Performance in mutual evaluation will benefit India in many ways. According to Government sources It improves the credibility and reputation of India as a financially stable and secure nation, making it more attractive for investment. It increases access to international markets and lowers borrowing costs.
It improves cooperation with other countries in areas like countering terrorist financing, assets recovery and law enforcement. A good rating can lead to increased access to international trade by increasing the trust of India's trade finance Instruments.
There are 40 recommendations and 11 immediate outcomes. One needs to get higher rating in at least 33 recommendations and 5 immediate outcomes to be placed in regular follow-up. The evaluation and rating are very stringent and hence getting placed in regular follow up is a tall order ask.
Currently FATF have total 39 member's. Russia's membership was suspended in February 2023. As of June 2024, the FATF has reviewed 133 countries and jurisdictions and publicly identified 108 of them. Of these, 84 have since made the necessary reforms to address their AML/CFT weaknesses and have been removed from the process. Currently North Korea, Iran and Myanmar are in blacklist of FATF.
Countries including Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen are in grey list of FATF.
