On 24 October 2025, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its updated lists of high-risk (blacklisted) and increased-monitoring (grey-listed) jurisdictions. These updates reflect global progress and remaining gaps in anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CFT), and proliferation-financing (CPF) regimes.
Black List — “High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action”
These jurisdictions remain under the highest level of FATF scrutiny and are subject to enhanced due diligence or countermeasures:
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — remains on the blacklist.
- Islamic Republic of Iran — remains on the blacklist.
- Myanmar (Burma) — remains under enhanced due diligence measures; FATF continues to call on members and all jurisdictions to apply heightened scrutiny to business relationships and transactions involving Myanmar.
Grey List — “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring”
These jurisdictions have strategic AML/CFT/CPF deficiencies but have formally committed to work with the FATF to address them within agreed timelines. They are not automatically subject to countermeasures.
Jurisdictions removed (no longer under increased monitoring):
- Burkina Faso
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- South Africa
Jurisdictions newly added or remaining under monitoring:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Bolivia
- Bulgaria
- Cameroon
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Haiti
- Kenya
- Lao PDR
- Lebanon
- Monaco
- Namibia
- Nepal
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands (UK)
- Yemen
Implications for Compliance
- Increased Monitoring: Clients or counterparties linked to newly listed jurisdictions should be flagged for enhanced ongoing monitoring in AML risk scoring.
- Jurisdictions Removed: Countries removed from the grey list may no longer require elevated risk designation, but continued due diligence remains essential.
- Risk-Based Approach: FATF reiterates that placement on the list signals a commitment to improve, not immediate non-compliance. Financial institutions should apply proportional, risk-based controls rather than blanket de-risking.
AlgoCandy Compliance Reminder:
Our AML/KYC automation tools are continuously updated to align with FATF, ACRA, and MAS requirements — ensuring our clients maintain full regulatory readiness with every global FATF revision.