FATF Publishes October 2026 Grey List, Naming 23 Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published its latest list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, identifying 23 countries and territories with strategic deficiencies in their frameworks for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

Commonly referred to as the FATF grey list, the designation applies to jurisdictions that have committed to working with the FATF and relevant FATF-style regional bodies to address identified weaknesses within agreed timeframes.

The October 2026 list includes Angola, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Monaco, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Vietnam, the British Virgin Islands, and Yemen.

The FATF reports that several jurisdictions have made progress in strengthening their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) frameworks. Areas of improvement include risk-based supervision, beneficial ownership transparency, financial intelligence sharing, targeted financial sanctions and the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offences.

However, outstanding deficiencies remain. These include weaknesses in supervisory oversight, the identification of beneficial owners, suspicious transaction reporting, asset recovery and the effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions.

Importantly, the FATF clarifies that jurisdictions under increased monitoring are not automatically subject to enhanced due diligence requirements. Financial institutions are expected to apply a risk-based approach rather than automatically terminating relationships or excluding entire categories of customers.

For compliance professionals, the updated list reinforces the importance of reviewing geographical risk assessments, customer profiles, transaction monitoring controls and correspondent banking relationships. Institutions should consider the specific risks identified by the FATF for each jurisdiction when determining appropriate due diligence measures.

The FATF also emphasises that legitimate humanitarian assistance, remittances and non-profit activities should not be unnecessarily disrupted by risk mitigation measures.