FATF Announces Collaboration with World Bank Group on Methodology, Acts on Non-Cooperative List, and Holds Global Forum

On October 11, 2002, the Financial Action Task Force issued a press release on three developments: a new methodology for evaluating compliance by countries with the anti-money laundering standards; developments on its non-cooperative list of countries; and the holding of a Global Forum on its reconsideration of the anti-money laundering recommendations. A major long-term development is that the FATF has decided to collaborate with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group on the development of a common methodology to assess the countries in the world in compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations and 8 Special counter-terrorism financial enforcement Recommendations. Due to the implementation of significant reforms in their anti-money laundering systems, FATF removed Dominica, Niue, the Marshall Islands and Russia from its list of non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCTs). The FATF has also recommended that its members impose counter-measures against Nigeria and the Ukraine. On October 8, 2002, the FATF held an international forum with representatives of the private sector who presented orally comments on the FATF reviews of its Forty Recommendations. FATF expects to complete that review during the first half of 2003, after which it will issue revised Recommendations. For FATF the achievement of a common methodology to evaluate compliance with international anti-money laundering strategies and allowance for the IMF to conduct assessments of various countries is a significant and evolving development. The NCCT list now is as follows: Cook Islands; Egypt; Grenada; Guatemala; Indonesia; Myanmar; Nauru; Nigeria; Philippines; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and Ukraine.