FATF Placed India in the Regular Follow-up Category

In its Mutual Evaluation Report for India  FATF emphasizes  that India has achieved a high-level of technical compliance across the FATF Recommendations, placing India in Regular Follow Up Category.

What are Mutual Evaluations?

• The mutual evaluation report is an assessment of a country’s measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 
• This includes an assessment of a country’s actions to address the risks emanating from designated terrorists or terrorist organizations. 
• The mutual evaluation report is without prejudice to the status or justification that led to the designation of an entity as a terrorist or terrorist group or organization.
• The FATF conducts peer reviews of each member on an ongoing basis to assess levels of implementation of the FATF Recommendations, providing an in-depth description and analysis of each country’s system for preventing criminal abuse of the financial system

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About FATF

• Intergovernmental organization: Established in 1989 by G-7 nations.
• The FATF currently has 39 members, including two regional organisations: the European Commission, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
• India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. On June 25, 2010 India was taken in as the 34th country member of FATF.
• India is also a member of its regional partners, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and the Eurasian Group (EAG).
• FATF Secretariat: Located at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
• Evolving mandate: Initially focused on money laundering, expanded to include terrorist financing and Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) financing.
• Governance: The FATF President, chosen by the Plenary from its members, leads meetings, including those of the Plenary and Steering Group, while supervising the Secretariat.
• Decision Making: The FATF Plenary is the decision making body of the FATF. It meets three times per year.
• Decisions are taken by consensus in the 39-member group, where any three members can exercise a “veto” on an action.

FATF Categories

• Regular follow-up: Countries that have demonstrated effective AML/CFT regimes and are subject to regular monitoring.
• Enhanced follow-up: Countries that have made significant progress in addressing their deficiencies but require increased monitoring.
• Grey list: Countries that have strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes and are subject to increased monitoring.
• Black list: Countries that have failed to address their deficiencies and are subject to sanctions.

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FATF Lauds India’s Efforts

• High-level compliance: India has achieved a high level of technical compliance with FATF Recommendations.
• Regular follow-up category: India has been classified as a “regular follow-up” country, the top category.
• Only India, the UK, France, and Italy are G-20 countries in the “regular follow-up” category.