June 27 2016
FATF, which counts China, the United States and India as members, released a public statement on June 24 stating that Myanmar had been removed from the list of “jurisdictions with strategic weaknesses” in their anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.
The decision came after an on-site visit from a FATF team to determine whether Myanmar was making sufficient progress with recommended reforms. Those reforms included criminalising terrorist financing, freezing terrorist assets and ensuring Myanmar’s financial intelligence unit was “operationally independent”.
Freedom from the list should mean other countries and their financial institutions now find it easier to do business with Myanmar. FATF calls on member and non-member states to enforce stronger due diligence and counter-measures when dealing with countries deemed high-risk.
The recent on-site visit to confirm that AML/CFT measures were in place lasted no more than three days, an FATF spokesperson told The Myanmar Times. In 2017, the country faces a more rigorous FATF Mutual Evaluation, during which an assessment team will look at just how effective the measures in place are, and whether they protect the financial system from abuse, the spokesperson said.
The IMF is among the agencies providing technical AML/CFT technical assistance in Myanmar, which occurs partly through Japanese-government-funded programs, the IMF’s country representative Yasuhisa Ojima told The Myanmar Times in March.
The IMF has helped Myanmar draft laws and regulations and, along with others, helped train staff at Myanmar’s Financial Intelligence Unit, he said.