Regulatory Alerts2017-04-05 | FinCEN Advisory - FIN-2017-A002Added
Advisory on the FATF-Identified Jurisdictions with AML/CFT Deficiencies
U.S. financial institutions are updated on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) revised lists of jurisdictions with strategic Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies as of February 24, 2017. The advisory requires U.S. financial institutions to apply enhanced due diligence for correspondent accounts for foreign banks, specifically prohibiting opening or maintaining any correspondent accounts with foreign banks licensed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or Iran. For the DPRK, institutions must continue to consult existing FinCEN and OFAC guidance and prevent indirect access to U.S. correspondent accounts, while for Iran, despite FATF's conditional suspension of countermeasures until June 2017, U.S. financial institutions must still comply with existing U.S. sanctions. Additionally, institutions must consider risks and comply with general due diligence obligations for Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lao PDR, Syria, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Yemen, noting Ethiopia's addition to this list due to a lack of effective implementation of its AML/CFT framework.