As India spearheads a global initiative to bring greater transparency to online transactions and credit card payments, India will join the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) exclusive club of top performers on September 19, surpassing the US, China, Germany, Japan, and Canada for maintaining higher standards in curbing money laundering and terror financing.
According to the certain authorities, the thorough assessment on India’s achievements in reducing financial crimes received positive ratings on 37 of 40 rigorous evaluation categories. This is a feat only three G20 nations have attained: the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
According to officials, India was ranked first in the FATF’s mutual evaluation conducted in 2023–24. This puts India in the top category of “regular follow-up,” which permits it to “voluntarily” meet the remaining three parameters. However, for nations falling into the next category of “enhanced follow-up,” like the US, China, and Germany, fulfilling all deficiencies is required.
FATF states that these nations must submit an annual report on their progress or risk sanctions. They do, however, fare better than the nations on the “grey list,” where an action plan is provided along with four-monthly implementation monitoring. Countries on the gray list are moved to the “black list” and exposed to countermeasures, such as Myanmar, if they don’t demonstrate any improvement. Iran and North Korea are two examples of nations that are blacklisted because they refuse to take part in the FATF’s mutual review procedure.
India stands to gain immensely from being in the top category (regular follow-up), according to the officials. Countries that participate in “regular follow-up” voluntarily submit a report every three years. According to an official, it strengthens India’s credibility and reputation as a safe and secure financial destination, drawing in more foreign investment.
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