Financial Crime World

MONGOLIA’S FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNITS RECEIVE MIXED RATING IN FATF REPORT

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its latest Follow-Up Report 2023, which assesses the implementation of technical requirements to combat money laundering and terrorist financing by Mongolia’s financial intelligence units (FIUs). The report provides a mixed rating for Mongolia’s progress.

Progress Made

According to the report, Mongolia has made significant progress in several areas:

  • Risk Assessment: Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1)
  • National Cooperation: National cooperation and coordination (R.2)
  • Regulation and Supervision: Regulation and supervision of financial institutions (R.26)

The country was also found to be largely compliant with requirements related to:

  • Confiscation and Provisional Measures: Confiscation and provisional measures (R.4)
  • Terrorist Financing Offence: Terrorist financing offence (R.5)
  • Targeted Financial Sanctions: Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6)

Areas for Improvement

However, Mongolia was deemed partially compliant in several areas:

  • Customer Due Diligence: Customer due diligence (R.10)
  • Record Keeping: Record keeping (R.11)
  • Transparency and Beneficial Ownership: Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements (R.24)

Additionally, the country was found to be non-compliant with requirements related to:

  • Powers of Supervisors: Powers of supervisors (R.27)
  • Mutual Legal Assistance: Freezing and Confiscation: Mutual legal assistance: freezing and confiscation (R.38)

Way Forward

The report highlights that Mongolia has made efforts to improve its financial intelligence, but more work is needed to fully comply with FATF standards. The country’s FIUs are urged to continue strengthening their capacity to analyze and disseminate financial intelligence.

Commitment to Improvement

In response to the report, Mongolian authorities have committed to addressing the remaining deficiencies and strengthening their anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime. The country’s FIUs will need to continue working closely with international partners and stakeholders to achieve full compliance with FATF standards.