SEOUL, February 22 (AJP) - North Korea has been re-listed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist for the 15th year in a row, maintaining its status as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering and terrorist financing.
The FATF said Friday that North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar remain on its list of “high-risk jurisdictions,” the highest warning level designated by the organization.
"The FATF remains concerned by the DPRK's continued failure to address the significant deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regime and the serious threats posed by the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]'s illicit activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing," the organization said on its website, referring to North Korea by its formal name.
The organization further underscored the risks associated with these jurisdictions, saying, “High-risk jurisdictions have significant strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation.” It added, “For all countries identified as high-risk, the FATF calls on all members and urges all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence, and, in the most serious cases, countries are called upon to apply countermeasures to protect the international financial system from the money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing (ML/TF/PF) risks emanating from the country.”
The FATF, established in 1989 under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is tasked with safeguarding the global financial system by combating illicit financial activities, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea has repeatedly rejected its designation as a high-risk country. When the FATF relisted it in 2022, Pyongyang denounced the move as an "unjust measure."
However, the FATF reiterated its commitment to monitoring North Korea’s financial activities. It urged global financial institutions and governments to tighten scrutiny, sever banking ties with North Korean entities, and strengthen financial sanctions.
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