The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) confirmed that the South American country was included in the gray list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering system.
The FATF lists have a new tenant from Latin America. This time it is Venezuela, a country that was designated on the grey list during the organization’s plenary session held in June 2024 in Singapore.
According to the FATF itself, several structural problems were identified in the Venezuelan system against money laundering and terrorist financing, which led to its review.
It all goes back to the poor results obtained by the South American jurisdiction in its Mutual Evaluation Report of November 2022.
The specific flaws of Venezuela’s AML/CFT system
Among the areas of improvement identified are the need to ensure that the full range of financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) are subject to ML/TF prevention measures and have risk-based supervision.
They were also found deficiencies in the resources assigned to the country’s FIU and the rapid implementation of targeted sanctions related to terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
In addition, Venezuela struggled to demonstrate that beneficial ownership information was adequate, accurate, up-to-date and accessible in a timely manner; and that measures to prevent terrorist financing in non-profit organizations (NPOs) were “specific, proportionate and risk-based.”
Another of the calls made to the country was that they should work to strengthen their understanding of the risks of ML/TF, improve the use of financial intelligence by authorities and advance the investigation and prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing.
It is important to mention that Venezuela had already been included in the FATF grey list, which took place in October 2010. It was eventually removed in February 2013.
What is the FATF gray list?
Basically it is a list prepared by the delegates of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This includes “jurisdictions under greater monitoring” [que] “They are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.”
From the international organization they mention that “when the FATF subjects a jurisdiction to greater monitoring, it means that the country has committed to quickly resolve the strategic deficiencies identified within the agreed deadlines and is subject to greater monitoring.”
