On the 24 March 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a notice to inform licence holders regarding the recent publication of two public documents issued by the Financial Action Task Force (the “FATF”). In these publications, the MFSA states that the FATF has identified jurisdictions considered to have strategic deficiencies regarding anti-money laundering and combating the funding of terrorism (“AML/CFT”).
High-risk and Non-cooperative Jurisdictions subject to a Call for ActionT his section relates to the identification of jurisdictions with serious strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. They are classified as:
Jurisdictions that have strategic AML/CFT deficiencies and to which countermeasures apply; andJurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that have not reached adequate improvement in addressing their shortcomings or have not committed to an actionable development with the FATF to address these deficiencies. Furthermore, the FATF requests its members to consider risks arising from the deficiencies associated with each jurisdiction.
Jurisdictions under increased monitoring
This section relates to the identification of jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that have presented a high-level political commitment to address the shortcomings through the implementation of an action plan developed with the FATF. The situation varies in each jurisdiction and therefore each provides different degrees of ML/FT risks.
Additionally, the FATF identified jurisdictions that are no longer subject to the FATF’s on-going global AML/CFT compliance process.
Licence holders should consider the above-mentioned documentation when undertaking any business with any of the jurisdictions listed in the public statements.
Feel free to contact us if you require any further information in relation to AML/CFT compliance process.
