Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental policymaking body that has a ministerial mandate to establish international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.  India joined the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as its 34th member in June 2010.

• At present FATF has 36 members comprising of 34 countries and two organizations namely, the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
• At the time of joining FATF, India gave an Action Plan to overcome certain deficiencies in a time bound manner. The items of the Action Plan were divided into Immediate, short term and Medium term items, which were to be completed by June 2010, March 2011 and March 2012 respectively. India has completed the Immediate and Short-term Action Plan items within the stipulated time and the same have been acknowledged by the FATF technical onsite team that visited India in April 2011.
• India participated in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary and working group meetings held in Mexico City, Mexico from 20-24 June, 2011. The plenary meeting discussed India´s Follow up Report of the FATF technical onsite team which visited India in April 2011 to assess India’s fulfillment of its Short term Action Plan and if it is on track to fulfil its Medium term commitments.

The FATF assessment team that came in April 2011 commented India for its commitment to anti-money laundering and combating financing of terror. It also appreciated India for being on course for the fulfilment of its medium-term commitment plan due in March 2012. During the preliminary and working group meetings of FATF held in Paris in October 2011 India contributed effectively to the process of identifying emerging challenges of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing and developing new standards by FATF. ( Source: Ministry of Finance)