The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) recently announced that Myanmar is actively following and implementing the recommendations set forth by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Although Myanmar is not an official FATF member country, it is part of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), a regional organization akin to FATF.
All countries and regions worldwide, including Myanmar, must adhere to the 40 Recommendations issued by the FATF. These recommendations cover areas such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Targeted Financial Sanctions related to proliferation.
Despite not being an official FATF member, Myanmar has made significant progress. Initially, it was non-compliant with over 20 out of the 40 recommendations. However, it now meets 24 of these standards.
Myanmar’s membership in the APG allows it to align with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts. The country has already drafted an Action Plan for further implementation.
In money transfer processes to foreign countries, Myanmar will face Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD). Banks involved will conduct additional checks and collect necessary remittance documents.
The CBM emphasizes that despite being categorized as a high-risk jurisdiction, Myanmar need not worry. Currency market manipulations are strictly prohibited, and actions will be taken against violators.
In 2017, Myanmar was included in the list of countries and regions that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requested to subject to stricter inspections in 2022.
However, in 2018, the mutual evaluation report conducted by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) found that only 17 out of FATF’s 40 recommendations met the criteria for good standards. According to international standards, at least 20 points need to meet these good standards. The Central Bank made this announcement.
Since then, Myanmar has made continuous improvements to meet the low standards set by the 40 FATF recommendations. In 2023, APG published a mutual evaluation report on Myanmar’s member countries, indicating that 25 standards have been improved.
The Central Bank further announced targeted efforts to achieve a level of compliance with 2 additional standards by 2024.
Myanmar is actively implementing measures to raise its standards based on the low standard recommendations outlined in the mutual evaluation report by APG.
Additionally, the Central Bank is collaborating with relevant government agencies and the private sector to implement the FATF’s action plan, aiming to remove Myanmar from the list of countries and regions subject to increased inspections.
Both FATF and APG have recognized Myanmar’s efforts in anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing operations, and the prevention of weapons proliferation, resulting in improved ratings.
