बिज्ञापन

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to retain Nepal on its “increased monitoring list”, commonly known as the grey list, citing continued deficiencies in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing risks.

बिज्ञापन

In a statement issued after the conclusion of its fourth plenary meeting on Friday, the FATF acknowledged Nepal’s ongoing efforts to improve its financial integrity system but said the country’s progress remains insufficient to warrant removal from the grey list.

The global watchdog emphasized that Nepal must undertake further structural reforms and demonstrate stronger implementation of its commitments under the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

बिज्ञापन

Nepal made a high-level political commitment to the FATF and the Asia Pacific Group (APG) in February 2025 to strengthen its AML/CFT mechanisms. While limited progress has been observed, the FATF has called on Nepal to develop and execute a comprehensive action plan to fulfill its obligations.

According to the FATF statement, Nepal has been urged to:

Deepen its understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks;

Strengthen risk-based supervision of commercial banks, high-risk cooperatives, casinos, dealers in precious metals and stones, and the real estate sector;

Identify and sanction illegal money/value transfer services (MVTS) or hundi operators while promoting financial inclusion; and

Enhance investigative and prosecutorial capacity to trace, freeze, and confiscate criminal proceeds.

Additionally, Nepal has been asked to address technical deficiencies in its targeted financial sanctions regime related to terrorism financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF).

The FATF’s continued monitoring means Nepal will need to demonstrate tangible results in implementing AML/CFT measures before it can be delisted.