Ministers of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a ministerial declaration reaffirming coordinated action against illicit finance and agreeing to prioritise a stronger response to the growing threat of fraud alongside more effective, risk-based implementation of the FATF Standards. The declaration also welcomes the FATF’s revised Standards on payment transparency and supports the new round of mutual evaluations with an increased emphasis on risk and effectiveness. The declaration commits to deploying the full anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) toolkit to detect, disrupt and combat fraud, including payments fraud, and to deepen shared understanding of typologies such as organised scam centres and the misuse of legal persons, virtual assets and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence. It backs rapid and effective implementation of the FATF Standards in the virtual assets sector, with accountability through peer review, and signals further work on tailored assessment approaches for low-capacity countries after the FATF refined its risk-based criteria to better identify countries posing higher threats to the global financial system. Ministers also support continued streamlining of the assessment process, resourcing mutual evaluations, and the contributions of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as assessor bodies, while reiterating vigilance regarding risks linked to the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine and reminding jurisdictions of obligations to address proliferation financing risks emanating from Iran. Ministers noted that guidance on payment transparency is expected to be published and committed to timely implementation of the revised Standards, with the next FATF Ministerial Meeting scheduled for 2028.
Financial Action Task Force 2026-04-17
Financial Action Task Force ministers set 2026-2028 priorities for mutual evaluations, fraud response and risk-based implementation
FATF ministers issued a declaration reaffirming coordinated action against illicit finance, prioritising a stronger response to fraud and more effective, risk-based implementation of FATF Standards, including revised rules on payment transparency. They committed to using the full AML/CFT/CPF toolkit against fraud, improving understanding of typologies involving legal persons, virtual assets and emerging technologies such as AI, and supporting rapid implementation and peer review in the virtual assets sector. The declaration backs a new round of mutual evaluations focused on risk and effectiveness, tailored support for low-capacity countries, streamlined and better-resourced assessments, and reiterates vigilance regarding risks from Russia’s war against Ukraine and proliferation financing from Iran.