Statements issued by the Financial Action Task Force

Our Ref.: B10/14C B1/15C B10/21C 12 November 2024 The Chief Executive All Authorized Institutions and Stored Value Facility Licensees Dear Sir/Madam, Statements issued by the Financial Action Task Force I am writing to update you on the statements published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) identifying jurisdictions that have strategic deficiencies in their anti￾money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and counter proliferation financing regimes, and also draw your attention to a number of outcomes from the FATF Plenary meeting held between 23 and 25 October 2024. Statements on “High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action” and “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring” (1) Jurisdictions subject to a FATF call on its members and other jurisdictions to apply countermeasures Iran and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Authorized Institutions (AIs) and stored value facility (SVF) licensees should continue to refer to the HKMA circular on “Statements issued by the Financial Action Task Force” dated 11 March 2020, in particular, applying the enhanced due diligence measures and other countermeasures in relation to Iran and DPRK. (2) Jurisdiction subject to a FATF call on its members and other jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence measures proportionate to the risks arising from the jurisdiction Myanmar The FATF determined that Myanmar will remain on the list of countries subject to a call for action until its full action plan is completed. AIs and SVF licensees

• 2 - should therefore continue to apply enhanced due diligence measures 1 , proportionate to the risks involved, to business relationships and transactions with natural and legal persons from Myanmar. The statement can be found at: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored￾jurisdictions/Call-for-action-october-2024.html. (3) Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring The FATF has issued an updated statement on “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring”. The statement can be found at: https://www.fatf￾gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/increased￾monitoring-october-2024.html. FATF Plenary meeting, 23-25 October 2024 The outcomes of the FATF Plenary meeting were published on the FATF website and can be found at: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/content/fatf￾gafi/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-october-2024.html. In particular, the FATF has launched public consultation on proposed revisions to Recommendation 1 on assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach to support financial inclusion 2 . The FATF expects finalising the revisions and guidance to support this work in 2025. Going forward, updates of the FATF statements will be communicated to AIs and SVF licensees by way of emails. This revised approach will facilitate more timely communication with AIs and SVF licensees regarding FATF-related updates. Yours faithfully, Raymond Chan Executive Director (Enforcement and AML) 1 See paragraph 4.15.1 of Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (For Authorized Institutions) revised in May 2023 and paragraph 4.13.1 of Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (For Stored Value Facility Licensees) revised in May

2 Public Consultation on AML/CFT and Financial Inclusion – proposed changes to FATF Standards issued on 28 October 2024