Financial Crime World

FATF Adds Monaco to Grey List of Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has added the Principality of Monaco to its grey list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, despite significant progress made by Monaco in implementing actions recommended by MONEYVAL in January 2023.

Reason for Addition

According to the FATF press release, Monaco’s addition to the grey list is due to the country’s continued work on strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regime.

Progress Made by Monaco

  • Monaco has strengthened measures to combat the financing of terrorism.
  • A new combined financial intelligence unit and AML/CFT supervisory authority has been created.
  • Targeted financial sanctions have been implemented.
  • Risk-based supervision of non-profit organizations has been put in place.

Commitment to Implementation

Monaco has reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the latest FATF recommendations by the deadlines outlined in the declaration. The Principality made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and MONEYVAL in June 2024 to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime.

Action Plan

Since the adoption of its mutual evaluation report (MER) in December 2022, Monaco has made significant progress on several of the MER’s recommended actions. The country will continue to work with FATF to implement its action plan by:

  • Strengthening risk understanding related to money laundering and income tax fraud committed abroad.
  • Demonstrating a sustained increase in outbound requests.
  • Enhancing sanctions for AML/CFT breaches.
  • Completing resourcing programs for its FIU.
  • Increasing seizure of property suspected to derive from criminal activities.

Timeline

The Principality has set two intermediate milestones:

  • May 2025
  • September 2025

Monaco will continue to work with FATF and MONEYVAL to implement its action plan and strengthen its AML/CFT regime.