FATF increased monitoring & high-risk jurisdictions – February 2026
FATF Increased Monitoring & High-Risk Jurisdictions, February 2026
By SALVUS Team
On 13th February 2026, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its latest update on jurisdictions under increased monitoring, commonly referred to as the grey list and those classified as high-risk, or on the blacklist. The lists are reviewed during the FATF plenary meetings and adjusted in response to the FATF’s findings, as well as global, political and economic developments.
Jurisdictions under increased monitoring (grey list) are cooperating closely with the FATF to resolve strategic shortcomings in their frameworks for combating money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF), and proliferation financing (PF). Being placed under increased monitoring indicates that the country has formally committed to addressing these deficiencies promptly, within agreed timelines, and remains under closer FATF scrutiny throughout the process.
Following the February 2026 review, the FATF now also identifies Kuwait and Papua New Guinea as jurisdictions under increased monitoring.
Jurisdictions identified with strategic deficiencies, placed by the FATF under increased monitoring as of February 2026, are:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Bolivia
- Bulgaria
- Cameroon
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Haiti
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Monaco
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Papua New Guinea
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- British Virgin Islands
- Yemen
High-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action are those identified with significant strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter ML/TF/PF. For these jurisdictions, obliged entities shall apply enhanced due diligence measures. In this regard, the FATF list remains unchanged with the below jurisdictions as high-risk:
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
- Iran
- Myanmar
Furthermore, the suspension of the membership of the Russian Federation continues to stand. According to the FATF statement, all jurisdictions must continue to remain vigilant to the risks associated with Russia.
Mutual Evaluations of Austria, Italy and Singapore
Reports were approved for Austria, Italy and Singapore. These assessments evaluate effectiveness against money-laundering, terrorist-financing, and proliferation-financing risks; publication is expected after a global quality review in April–May 2026. The new evaluation round places greater emphasis on real-world results and includes a time-bound roadmap for strengthening defenses within three years.
Strategic Initiatives
Tackling cyber-enabled fraud
FATF approved a paper highlighting the rapidly growing global fraud threat driven by digital technologies. It calls for AML/CFT partners to adopt innovative tools to prevent fraud, recover victim funds, and prosecute offenders, with fraud set as a key FATF focus in the coming years.
Virtual assets
FATF endorsed two upcoming reports aimed at managing cross-border risks while supporting responsible financial innovation:
- Offshore VASPs: Examines how criminals exploit regulatory gaps in offshore virtual-asset providers and outlines actions governments can take to close these loopholes.
- Stablecoins & Unhosted Wallets: Assesses risks from the fast expansion of stablecoins, especially peer-to-peer transfers, and provides mitigation recommendations for both regulators and industry.
Setting the Strategic Priorities for 2026-2028
Delegates agreed on priority areas to help jurisdictions keep pace with evolving financial-crime threats and reinforce the principle that crime should not be profitable. These priorities will be submitted for ministerial endorsement in April.
Cohesion across the Global Network
The plenary endorsed measures to increase the voice and participation of FATF-Style Regional Bodies, aiming for stronger cohesion across the global AML framework.
EU High Risk Third Countries Updated December 2025
Separately, as of December 2025, the European Commission updated its list of high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes via Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/83. Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands were added, while Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania were removed. Russia was also added to the list in December 2025 following a separate assessment.
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