Regulatory Alerts2019-01-01
Decision No. (2019/2) of the Financial Follow-Up Unit on High-Risk Countries and Countries Under Increased Monitoring for Compliance with International Standards
The Financial Follow-Up Unit of the State of Palestine, circulated by the Palestine Monetary Authority, issues Decision No. (2019/2) designating North Korea and Iran as high-risk jurisdictions and listing twelve additional countries under increased monitoring for AML/CFT compliance. Financial institutions operating in Palestine are mandated to impose a complete transaction ban on North Korea, apply enhanced due diligence and correspondent banking restrictions for Iran, and implement ongoing risk mitigation and source-of-funds verification for all monitored jurisdictions. This decision formally updates and supersedes previous directives to align Palestinian banking operations with current Financial Action Task Force (FATF) listings and national anti-money laundering legislation.