FATF Gray-lists Kuwait, Papua New Guinea

The Financial Action Task Force added a pair of nations to a global "gray list" Friday after both failed to fill key gaps in their defenses against illicit finance. 

At the end of the group's latest summit in Mexico City, FATF urged the two nations, Kuwait and Papua New Guinea, to strengthen supervision of high-risk financial and non-financial institutions for anti-money laundering purposes, improve suspicious transaction reporting and enhance the accuracy of beneficial ownership information, among other measures.

"I am pleased to have received from both countries a high-level political commitment that they will deliver on clear action plans," FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo told reporters at the conclusion of the three-day summit.

The more than 600 delegates at the summit separately reviewed initial findings from the latest assessments of Austria, Italy and Singapore's laws, regulations and efficacy against financial crime as part of the group's fifth round of evaluations, which got under way in 2024.  

Pre-summit correspondence obtained by ACAMS moneylaundering.com shows evaluators in a draft report initially rating Austria "low" in two of 11 outcomes of effectiveness after finding that the country's non-financial sector generally does not vet clients and flag suspicious transactions sufficiently, and authorities do not pursue enough cases against money launderers.

The correspondence further indicates that Austria initially scored "moderate" in six of the remaining 10 outcomes, "substantial" in two and "high" in only one, corporate transparency, a decade after FATF rated the country only moderately effective in the same category. 

Singapore appears to have obtained similarly mixed, albeit initial, results, with evaluators preliminarily rating the city-state moderate in six outcomes, substantial in four and low in one: corporate transparency.

Evaluators meanwhile assessed Italy's effectiveness as moderate in three outcomes and substantial in eight, including use of financial intelligence, investigation and prosecution of money launderers, and supervision of banks and other financial institutions.

Moneylaundering.com has not established whether FATF amended the initial results of the three countries following discussions at the summit. The group is expected to release the full, final results for all three in April or May after reviewing them for quality and consistency.

De Anda Madrazo declined to discuss findings from the evaluations, only emphasizing that FATF has "sharpened its focus on effectiveness and results."

"We look not just at laws and policies on paper, but on how well governments are doing at putting criminals behind bars, depriving them of their illicit assets and ultimately, keeping people safe," de Anda Madrazo said.

Delegates separately appointed FATF's current vice president, U.K. sanctions director Giles Thomson, to lead the group after de Anda Madrazo completes her two-year term in July, and discussed their strategic priorities for the next three years prior to unveiling them in April.

• Topics: Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism
• Source: FATF
• Document Date: February 13, 2026