FATF is tasked with combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reaffirmed India’s political commitment to fighting money laundering and terrorist financing as she appreciated the role of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) global network in safeguarding the global financial system.

She was speaking at the FATF Ministerial Meeting conducted in Washington DC on Thursday, alongside the 2022 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to endorse the Paris-based body's strategic priorities for the years 2022-24.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Sitharaman extended support to the strategic priorities and reiterated India's commitment to provide necessary resources and support to the FATF in its endeavour as a global alliance against money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, said the Ministry of Finance.

The Paris-based FATF has placed Pakistan on its grey list since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019. Since then, Pakistan continues to be on the FATF's list due to its failure to comply with the FATF mandates.

Sitharaman congratulated FATF President Marcus Pleyer for the able guidance and leadership provided through the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry said.