Gibraltar is one of four countries that has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF’s) greylist.
Following the FATF Plenary which was held from 21-24 Feb, it has been confirmed that the jurisdictions have now been removed from the gray list.
Gibraltar is listed alongside Uganda, Barbados, and United Arab Emirates. The Plenary stated that the four jurisdictions have made significant progress in dealing with anti-money-laundering (AML), counter-terrorist-financing (CTF) concerns that were identified by previous evaluations.
The four parties had previously also agreed on an Action Plan where certain issues were to be addressed within a specified timeframe.
The FATF stated that “These countries are no longer subject to FATF’s enhanced monitoring process”. This follows a successful visit on site to all of these countries. The FATF regional organization, which each country is a part of, will continue to strengthen their AML/CTF/CPF systems.
Kenya and Namibia, which are officially known as Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring, were also added to the gray list at the plenary. The High-Risk jurisdictions, which are the most at-risk countries and jurisdictions that require action to be taken against them were not expanded.
FATF has also named Elisa De Anda Madrazo its new president, for a two-year term. De Anda Madrazo served as FATF Vice-President between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2023. Her new position will start on 1st July 2024.
Gibraltar has a long association with the gray list
Gibraltar was on the gray list since June 2022. It has been in a battle for two years with the FATF. The list was to remain on for one year, until it can be evaluated again. Malta was also removed from greylist at this Plenary.
After being added to the list, the jurisdiction developed an action plan consisting of 2 points.
Andrew Lyman said that he did not know why Gibraltar had been added to the gray list. The gambling commissioner of Gibraltar, Andrew Lyman said that he was unsure why the island had been added to the grey list.
He added, however, that he is “highly dedicated” to getting Gibraltar “off the list as quickly as possible”. Lyman confirmed Gibraltar will not be issuing any more sanctions because of its grey listing.
Gibraltar announced in October of that same year that the government would delay reporting progress towards being removed from grey list. In February of the following year, Gibraltar’s government confirmed that it would remain on the gray list despite the FATF noting progress.
Gibraltar will be notified in June 2023 that its May 2023 action plan deadline has expired.
