The Financial Action Task Force’s October 30 update keeps 21 jurisdictions under increased monitoring, while welcoming reforms by Bulgaria, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Monaco. The review also describes unfinished work across countries addressing money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks.
The FATF says monitored jurisdictions have committed to address strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes. It calls on them to complete action plans, and says it will continue to watch progress. The organization says the designation does not call for enhanced due diligence by itself. Its standards also do not envisage cutting off entire customer groups.
Instead, the FATF urges members and other jurisdictions to use the list in their own risk analysis. It also says actions should not disrupt humanitarian assistance, legitimate nonprofit activity or remittances. The guidance refers countries to international obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2761 (2024) on humanitarian exemptions to asset-freeze measures imposed under UN sanctions regimes.
Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring face different action plans
The update says the FATF and regional bodies reviewed progress from 17 jurisdictions since June 2026. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, Iraq and Yemen chose not to report in this cycle, so earlier statements remain in the document and may not show their current status.
Several action plans focus on ownership records, supervision and investigations. Angola is asked to improve access to accurate beneficial ownership information and demonstrate more money-laundering and terrorist-financing investigations. Bolivia is asked to improve supervision of real-estate agents and other professions, sanction ownership-reporting breaches and increase money-laundering cases.
Kenya is asked to address compliance breaches involving legal persons and increase investigations and prosecutions in line with risks. Kuwait should improve the accuracy of registry information and increase cases involving cross-border currency movements. The FATF also sets out action plans for jurisdictions including Nepal, Lebanon, Vietnam and the Virgin Islands (UK), with measures ranging from risk-based oversight to stronger financial intelligence and prosecutions.
For financial institutions, these details sit within wider debates about access and oversight. A dispute over digital-asset banking access likewise concerns how financial rules affect institutions and customers. The FATF’s own guidance says jurisdictions should assess risks rather than treat the listing as a blanket instruction to withdraw services.
FATF welcomes progress while urging follow-through
The FATF says Bulgaria addressed commitments tied to deficiencies identified in October 2023. Its listed steps include risk-based supervision, more accurate beneficial ownership records, stronger money-laundering investigations and action against terrorist-financing and proliferation-financing risks. The organization says Bulgaria should continue working with MONEYVAL to sustain the improvements.
Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also completed action-plan commitments, according to the update. The FATF cited improvements involving international cooperation, supervision, ownership information, financial intelligence and investigations. Monaco’s listed progress includes stronger risk understanding, more requests to identify criminal assets abroad and increased seizures of property suspected to come from criminal activity.
The update still describes expired deadlines and incomplete work in some jurisdictions. It says Vietnam failed to complete its plan by May 2025, and the FATF expects tangible improvements in February 2027 or will consider next steps. On Syria and Yemen, it says earlier technical action plans were substantially addressed, but security conditions have prevented on-site visits to confirm sustained implementation.
The report’s practical message is to apply risk-based controls and keep reviewing progress. Other coverage has examined OCC allegations of debanking and changes in financial-crime enforcement, related topics in the broader discussion of oversight. The FATF says it will continue monitoring jurisdictions and urges them to complete their agreed action plans.
