FATF-MENAFATF Joint Plenary week - 24-29 June 2018

The FATF and the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) will meet for six days of meetings to discuss important issues to protect the integrity of the global financial system and contribute to safety and security. The meetings will involve delegates from the 203 jurisdictions of the FATF Global Network, as well as the UN, IMF, World Bank and other partners.

The week’s meetings will conclude with the third and final Plenary meeting under the Argentinean Presidency of Santiago Otamendi, on 27-29 June 2018. Among many other issues, the discussions during the Plenary will focus on:

Counter-terrorist financing: We will discuss the actions that FATF is taking in response to the changing terrorist financing threats, and in line with the counter-terrorist financing operational plan adopted in February 2018.

Judges and Prosecutors: We will discuss the outcomes from the FATF’s outreach to the prosecutorial services and the criminal justice system and a President’s paper which summarises their experiences, challenges and best practices in investigating and prosecuting money laundering and terrorist financing.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia:We will review the mutual evaluation of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and the effectiveness of their efforts to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. We will review the actions that Australia, Belgium and Sweden have taken to address the deficiencies identified in their assessments. We will discuss and update our statements identifying high-risk and other monitored jurisdictions.

FATF will discuss its engagement with the FinTech and RegTech sectors and future steps to support responsible innovation in line with effective AML/CFT measures. FATF will also discuss its ongoing work to understand the vulnerabilities of virtual currencies or ‘crypto assets’ for money laundering and terrorist financing, and the action to take to promote a more consistent regulatory approach. FATF Heads of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) will discuss co-operation between FIUs and intelligence services, and with private sector involvement, how to improve the quality of financial intelligence.

FATF members will discuss and approve the priorities of the incoming presidency. 

FATF