The Financial Action Task Force published the outcomes of its 17 to 19 June plenary, combining a standards change with updates to its monitoring lists and a broader set of policy initiatives. The main standards decision was an update to Recommendation 6 so that sanctions measures do not block funds, assets, resources, goods and services needed for humanitarian assistance and basic human needs, incorporating the humanitarian exemption in United Nations Security Council resolutions 2664 and 2761. The plenary also added Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq to the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, while removing Algeria and Namibia after successful on-site visits and completion of their action plans. The plenary adopted the mutual evaluation reports for Canada and Türkiye under the new round of evaluations, which introduces a three-year roadmap of key recommended actions to strengthen countries' defences against illicit finance. It also approved a public consultation on guidance for Recommendation 16 on cross-border payment transparency, alongside new or forthcoming work on public-private information sharing and data protection, terrorist financing through social media and messaging and streaming platforms, underground banking and hawala, risks in the casino and wider gambling sectors, and a seventh targeted update on implementation of the standards for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, including a separate report on Decentralised Finance. Several follow-up steps were set out. The reports on virtual assets and Decentralised Finance are due next month, the global overview of public and private sector partnerships and data protection arrangements is also due next month, the underground banking report is scheduled for September 2026, and the Canada and Türkiye mutual evaluation reports are expected in September to October 2026 after quality and consistency review. The plenary also approved the priorities for the incoming United Kingdom presidency from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028 and selected Vivek Aggarwal of India as the next FATF vice president for July 2026 to June 2027.
Financial Action Task Force2026-06-19
Financial Action Task Force updates sanctions standard and adds Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq to increased monitoring
The Financial Action Task Force's latest plenary updated Recommendation 6 to incorporate a humanitarian exemption into targeted financial sanctions standards and changed its increased monitoring list by adding Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq while removing Algeria and Namibia. It also adopted mutual evaluation reports for Canada and Türkiye and approved further guidance and reports on payment transparency, public-private information sharing, terrorist financing, informal value transfer channels, gambling risks and virtual assets. Next publications are scheduled from next month through October 2026.