19 June 2026
FATF ¦ Outcomes FATF Plenary, 17-19 June 2026
FATF Plenary in Paris Strengthens Global Defences Against Illicit Finance
The sixth and final FATF Plenary under the Mexican Presidency closed in Paris on 19 June 2026 with a wide package of decisions aimed at strengthening the global response to money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and related financial crime. Delegates from more than 200 jurisdictions and observer organisations met from 17 to 19 June to address a fast-changing threat landscape shaped by digitalisation, cross-border payment flows, emerging technologies, and increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
The meeting marked an important transition point for the FATF. It brought the Mexican Presidency’s work to a close while setting the tone for the UK Presidency, which will begin on 1 July 2026. The Plenary approved new policy updates, mutual evaluation reports, monitoring decisions, and several initiatives designed to help jurisdictions and the private sector respond more quickly to evolving risks.
Updated FATF Standard on Humanitarian Exemptions
One of the key outcomes was the update to Recommendation 6 of the FATF Standards. The change is designed to ensure that sanctions measures do not prevent the delivery of funds, assets, resources, goods, and services needed for humanitarian assistance and basic human needs.
The revised standard incorporates the humanitarian exemption contained in United Nations Security Council resolutions 2664 and 2761 , both of which relate to the prevention and suppression of terrorism and terrorist financing. This update reflects an ongoing effort to make sure sanctions regimes remain effective while reducing the risk that humanitarian flows are unintentionally blocked.
Changes to the Grey List
The FATF updated its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, often referred to as the grey list. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq were added after the Plenary concluded that both jurisdictions are actively working with the FATF and the Global Network to address strategic weaknesses in their anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and proliferation financing systems.
At the same time, Algeria and Namibia were removed from the list following successful on-site visits and confirmed progress in meeting their action plans within agreed timeframes. Both countries will continue working with their respective FATF-Style Regional Bodies, MENAFATF for Algeria and ESAAMLG for Namibia, to preserve the improvements achieved.
These decisions show the FATF’s continued use of its monitoring process as a tool to pressure jurisdictions to fix major gaps while also recognising sustained progress when it is delivered.
Mutual Evaluations of Canada and Türkiye
The Plenary also adopted the mutual evaluation reports for Canada and Türkiye. Canada’s report was carried out jointly with the Asia/Pacific Group, while Türkiye’s was conducted under the FATF process.
The reports assess both the effectiveness of each country’s anti-financial crime framework and their technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations. They will be published in September or October 2026 after a Global Network quality and consistency review.
Under the new round of mutual evaluations, each country receives a time-bound roadmap of key recommended actions to improve the effectiveness of its defences against illicit finance over a three-year period. This keeps the evaluation system focused not just on laws and regulations, but on whether those measures actually work in practice.
More Focus on Public-Private Cooperation and Information Sharing
The Plenary approved a new Global Overview of Public and Private Sector Partnerships and Data Protection Arrangements. This publication will examine different models of information sharing from around the world and is intended to support more effective intelligence sharing against money laundering, terrorism financing, fraud, and other crimes.
The FATF sees closer cooperation between governments and the private sector as essential, especially as transactions become more fragmented and more activity moves across digital channels. The new publication is expected to be launched next month, and further work in this area will continue under the UK Presidency.
The Plenary also approved a public consultation on new guidance to support implementation of the strengthened FATF Standard on cross-border payment transparency, Recommendation 16 . The guidance is meant to help countries and financial institutions improve payment transparency, which is particularly important in tackling fraud and other predicate offences. Stakeholders will be able to respond from next week.
New Work on Emerging Criminal Methods
The FATF approved several new publications aimed at helping countries keep pace with criminal innovation.
One upcoming publication will examine how terrorist financing activity is being conducted through social media, instant messaging apps, and streaming platforms. The report will build on the FATF’s 2025 Comprehensive Update on Terrorist Financing Risks and will offer recommendations on detection, disruption, and stronger engagement with the technology sector.
Another report, due in September 2026, will focus on underground banking, hawala , and similar service providers. The FATF expects this work to highlight how such channels can be abused by criminal actors, including professional money launderers, and how these risks have evolved alongside technological change.
The Plenary also agreed to update the Global Network’s understanding of illicit finance risks in the casino and broader gambling sector. That work will reflect changes in online, cross-border, multi-product, and multi-payment platforms, which continue to create new opportunities for abuse.
Virtual Assets and Decentralised Finance
Technology-related risk remained a major theme throughout the Plenary. The FATF approved a seventh targeted update on the implementation of its standards for virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
The meeting also endorsed a new targeted report on Decentralised Finance (DeFi) platforms, with a focus on the regulatory challenges they present. The FATF has increasingly warned that DeFi structures may be exposed to money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks, especially where oversight is weak or fragmented.
These reports will be published next month and are likely to be closely watched by regulators, compliance teams, and firms active in digital assets.
UK Presidency: Fraud, Risk-Based Supervision, and Information Sharing
Incoming FATF President Giles Thomson presented the priorities for the UK Presidency, which will run from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028. The agenda will focus on strengthening the international response to fraud, including scam compounds and the related money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
The UK will also prioritise stronger implementation of the risk-based approach, better risk-based supervision, and deeper information sharing through public-private partnerships. These priorities align with the broader strategy agreed at the FATF Ministerial meeting in Washington, DC.
Ahead of that focus, President Elisa de Anda Madrazo chaired a special session bringing together operational experts and private sector partners to exchange practical insights on tackling fraud, now seen as one of the most urgent global financial crime threats.
A More Inclusive and Connected Global Network
The Plenary also underlined the FATF’s push for broader engagement across its Global Network. Jamaica and Nigeria continued to participate under their own flags through the FSRB Guest Initiative, which aims to strengthen cohesion and cross-regional cooperation.
A new Global Strategy Group held its first meeting on 15 June. Chaired by the FATF President and made up of Chairs of FATF-Style Regional Bodies, the group is intended to improve coordination across the network and advise on strategic issues such as cross-regional risks and partnership opportunities.
The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) was also welcomed as a new Observer. AFI’s presence will support the FATF’s efforts to implement its standards in a way that is consistent with financial inclusion and the risk-based approach. That has been a recurring theme under the Mexican Presidency.
Leadership Transition and Next Steps
The Plenary selected Vivek Aggarwal of India as the next FATF Vice-President for 2026 to 2027. He will succeed Giles Thomson, who has held the role since 1 July 2025.
The FATF also confirmed that the suspension of the Russian Federation remains in place, as set out in its February 2024 statement.
Taken together, the decisions from this Plenary point to a FATF that is continuing to broaden its focus. The organisation is still working on its core mandate of setting standards and assessing compliance, but the agenda is now clearly extending into fraud, digital assets, public-private data sharing, online criminal ecosystems, and the practical limits of sanctions in humanitarian settings.
The next phase of FATF work will reward those that can adapt quickly, share information effectively, and stay alert to the ways criminal networks are using new technologies and business models to move illicit funds.
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