The international anti-money laundering unit FATF has put Croatia, along with Cameroon and Vietnam, on its list of countries to be monitored more closely. The three states are now among 23 others that are “actively working with the FATF” to address “strategic deficiencies in their systems to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” the FATF said in Paris.
Deterrent effect on investors
Croatia is the only member of the European Union that is on the list. According to the authority, Zagreb has vowed to improve and wants to start a corresponding action plan. Inclusion in the so-called gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) can mean a severe loss of image for the countries concerned and have a deterrent effect on foreign investors.
Flag of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in the Congress Center in Berlin (archive photo)Image: Markus Schreiber/AP/picture alliance
Other countries on the list include Albania, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. There is also a black list of countries classified as high risk. It currently includes only three countries: Iran, Myanmar and North Korea. Based in the French capital, the FATF is the main international body dedicated to combating and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing and is attached to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Also Germany with deficits
Last summer, a report by the FATF also confirmed that Germany had deficits in the fight against money laundering. A major point of criticism was that the fight against money laundering has so far not been given sufficient political importance.
sti/kle (afp, rtr)