Lebanon, which is currently under Israeli airstrikes, was placed to the “grey list” of countries that are subject to heightened financial transaction surveillance by the international anti-money laundering body FATF on Friday.
Algeria, Angola, and Ivory Coast were also added, according to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force.
“Of course, we recognize the extremely grave situation that Lebanon is currently facing,” said Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico, which currently holds the organisation’s rotating presidency.
The placement of Lebanon on the grey list “should not impede relief efforts… and we are working to ensure that channels of humanitarian aid remain open,” she continued.
Being placed on the grey list, according to De Anda, is not a “punitive measure” and is a step in the process of assisting countries in creating action plans to improve.
“I can tell you that there was a degree of flexibility granted to Lebanon as it relates to the deadlines set in the action plan,” she said.
The FATF reported improvements in Senegal’s capacity to look into and prosecute corruption-related money laundering crimes, and the country was taken off the grey list.
The “black list” of countries that the FATF has identified as needing countermeasures to safeguard the global financial system from money laundering and terrorism financing threats has not changed.
The blacklist includes North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar.
