The intergovernmental body that sets global standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Its evaluations and "grey list" designations materially shape investment-migration compliance.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body established in 1989 by the G7. It publishes the 40 Recommendations on AML/CFT (combating the financing of terrorism), conducts peer evaluations of its members, and maintains the "grey list" of jurisdictions under increased monitoring and the "black list" of high-risk uncooperative jurisdictions.
FATF assessments have driven major reforms across Caribbean CBI programmes. Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados appearing on the grey list in 2020–2024 created reputational pressure on the entire region and accelerated the 2024 OECS harmonisation of CBI due-diligence standards.
For practitioners, FATF status of an applicant's country of residence (and any intermediary jurisdiction in the source-of-funds chain) is a material input into the risk grade assigned during due diligence.