Financial Crime World

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Estonia’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Guidelines Receive Mixed Assessment

Background

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization that sets standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, has released its latest assessment of Estonia’s compliance with its guidelines. The report evaluates the country’s progress in implementing the technical requirements of the FATF Recommendations.

Key Findings

According to the report, Estonia received a “largely compliant” rating for several key recommendations:

  • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1)
  • National cooperation and coordination (R.2)
  • Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6)

However, Estonia was found to be only “partially compliant” with certain recommendations, including:

  • Confiscation and provisional measures (R.4)
  • Terrorist financing offence (R.5)
  • Customer due diligence (R.10)
  • Record keeping (R.11)

Additionally, the country received a “non-compliant” rating for several areas, including:

  • Non-profit organizations (R.8)
  • Higher-risk countries (R.19)

Progress and Challenges

The report noted that Estonia has made significant progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations since its previous assessment in 2023. However, it emphasized that there is still work to be done to ensure full compliance.

Estonia’s financial authorities have committed to addressing the areas of non-compliance and improving its overall implementation of the FATF Recommendations. The country is expected to submit a follow-up report to the FATF later this year to demonstrate its progress in implementing the recommendations.

Assessment Methodology

The assessment was carried out by a team of experts from the FATF and other countries, who reviewed Estonia’s laws, regulations, and practices against the 40+ Recommendations set forth by the organization. The report is intended to provide guidance to Estonia and other countries on how to effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

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