- October 28, 2025
- Posted by: FCS Compliance
- Category: Art Market, News, Property Market
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global watchdog for money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. Its mission is to set international standards that prevent criminals and terrorists from abusing the global financial system.
Three times a year, the FATF publishes two key documents identifying jurisdictions with weak measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT). These updates are essential reading for compliance professionals, particularly those working under HMRC AML supervision, as they influence risk-based approaches, due-diligence procedures, and jurisdictional risk ratings.
What changed in October 2025?
The fourth FATF Plenary under the Mexican Presidency of Elisa de Anda Madrazo concluded in October 2025, reaffirming the organisation’s global commitment to deprive criminals of their illicit gains.
Delegates from over 200 jurisdictions and observer organisations met to address key challenges in the fight against illicit finance, including asset recovery, artificial intelligence (AI)-related risks, and updates to jurisdiction monitoring.
High-Risk Jurisdictions – “Black List”
The FATF’s statement on High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action (commonly known as the black list) identifies countries or jurisdictions with serious strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT/CPF regimes.
For all jurisdictions identified as high risk, the FATF urges all members and global authorities to apply enhanced due diligence (EDD), and in the most severe cases, counter-measures to protect the international financial system from ongoing money-laundering, terrorist-financing, or proliferation-financing risks.
As of 24 October 2025, the following countries remain on the FATF’s black list:
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Iran
- Myanmar
FATF has also updated its public statement on Iran to reflect the latest developments in its AML/CFT efforts.
Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring – “Grey List”
The FATF’s second key statement identifies jurisdictions under increased monitoring, often referred to as the grey list. These countries are actively working with FATF to address identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes. Being placed on this list signals a jurisdiction’s commitment to implementing an Action Plan to strengthen its AML/CFT/CPF framework.
Jurisdictions removed from the grey list (October 2025):
- Burkina Faso
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- South Africa
Jurisdictions currently under increased monitoring (as of 24 October 2025):
- Algeria
- Angola
- Bolivia
- Bulgaria
- Cameroon
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Haiti
- Kenya
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- Lebanon
- Monaco
- Namibia
- Nepal
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands (UK)
- Yemen
Other Key Outcomes from the October 2025 Plenary
New FATF Guidance on Asset Recovery
The Plenary approved comprehensive guidance on asset recovery, aimed at helping countries close loopholes, strengthen legal frameworks and improve cross-border recovery of criminal assets. The new document, expected in November 2025, will provide practical tools to make crime less profitable and improve global confiscation rates.
Emerging Risks: Artificial Intelligence and Deepfakes
A new FATF Horizon Scan warns that criminals are already exploiting AI, AI agents and deepfakes to enable cyber fraud, impersonation and other illicit activity. The forthcoming report will feature case studies to help both public and private sectors strengthen safeguards and harness AI responsibly to mitigate new threats.
Why This Matters
For UK-regulated businesses, particularly those supervised by HMRC under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), these updates directly inform jurisdictional risk assessments and enhanced due diligence processes.
Remaining compliant means continuously updating internal AML frameworks and training to reflect FATF developments. Ignoring or delaying adjustments can expose your business to higher-risk clients and potential regulatory scrutiny.
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