The removal of the financial centre from the list had been trailed in media reports in the summer. The change will cause a sigh of collective relief in the jurisdiction that is home to a number of private banks serving HNW and UHNW clients.

The European principality of Monaco has been taken off the “grey list” of jurisdictions that had been put under heightened scrutiny in June 2024 because of concerns about controls on dirty money. 

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary, which met under the UK Presidency, issued a report on Friday. The action had been the subject of media speculation in mid-September.

The intergovernmental organisation, which monitors governments’ controls of money laundering and terrorism finance, said it welcomed “Monaco’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime.” The FATF said it had identified strategic deficiencies in Monaco’s AML and CFT regime in 2024. 

“Monaco should continue to work with MONEYVAL to sustain its improvements in its AML/CFT system,” FATF said. (MONEYVAL is the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing monitoring body.) 

Other countries removed from the list were Bulgaria, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This news service has spoken to local banks in Monaco about the possible removal of the tiny jurisdiction from the list. The FATF’s move will be welcomed, clearing the way for more business in the financial centre. 

Banks in the principality include Barclays, CMB and Edmond de Rothschild. Others include: CFM Indosuez Wealth Management; Banque J Safra Sarasin; Crédit Mobilier de Monaco; Société Générale Private Banking Monaco; BNP Paribas Wealth Management; Rothschild & Co Wealth Management; Caisse d'Epargne Côte d'Azur; Groupe BPCE; Banque Européenne du Crédit Mutuel; UBS Monaco; Pictet; EFG Bank; Union Bancaire Privée; Bank Julius Baer; Banque Havilland Monaco; Banque Richelieu; and Banca Popolare di Sondrio.

Among other announcements late last week, the FATF said it has agreed to speed up the implementation of standards on virtual assets. The organisation said at its plenary meeting that it “recognised the need to urgently strengthen countries’ defences against the rising threat posed by the misuse of virtual assets for money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.”

In its block of countries, deemed high risk, the FATF updated its public statements on two of them, Myanmar and Iran, reinforcing its call on Myanmar to address the extensive fraud and scam activities emanating from the country, and the call on Iran to criminalise terrorist financing and establish a targeted financial sanctions regime in line with the FATF Standards.