Morocco and 3 other countries are on the gray list to combat the financing of terrorism and money laundering

On Thursday, an international organization that monitors terrorist financing placed four other countries, including Senegal and Morocco, on the highest watch list, and kept North Korea and Iran on its blacklist.

Marcus Blair, chairman of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets standards against money laundering, said the organization had added Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal and the Cayman Islands to its watch list. in a plenary session this week. , the Associated Press reported.

With the inclusion of the four countries, the so-called gray list now consists of 19 countries and regions, which the group says are only partially compliant with international rules for combating terrorist financing and money laundering.

The specific shortcomings of each of these countries are different, but include preserving the information of the beneficial owners of money laundering and terrorist financing, and expanding the operations of financial intelligence units in these countries, according to the FATF.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the group is evaluating laws against money laundering and terrorist financing in 205 countries around the world.

For example, the FATF said in a report that the Cayman Islands government needs to impose effective administrative sanctions and enforceable measures against entities involved in money laundering violations, as well as implement appropriate sanctions in cases where information is not provided. Accurate and timely on the beneficiaries. The real thing.

Marcus Blair explained that the Cayman Islands is a major financial center and that his organization expects proportionate action from countries that are at risk with respect to money laundering and terrorist financing.

So far, the authorities in these countries have not responded to their inclusion on the watch list.

Blair added, in a virtual press conference, that his organization kept Pakistan on the list despite the progress it had made.

Blair said Pakistan has made remarkable progress in its efforts to improve its framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. However, some shortcomings remain, all related to terrorist financing.

He added that among the 27 targets in the action plan that Pakistan signed after hitting the gray list in 2018, “there are still elements that need to be fully addressed.”

The group noted that the COVID-19 pandemic affected its country assessments, delaying some of its reviews.