Japan Pushes FATF to Delist Myanmar — SkimNews
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- Japan is asking FATF to remove Myanmar from its blacklist; removal would end enhanced transaction screening for FATF members and make business with Myanmar easier.
- FATF's 40-member body will conclude its third and last plenary meeting of the year Friday in Paris; it was not immediately clear whether a change was imminent, although another major Asian country is also pressing for Myanmar's removal.
- Myanmar was added to the blacklist in October 2022 after missing a deadline to address deficiencies; FATF's June assessment found some progress but said money laundering still needed investigation and prosecution, while illicit finance from cyberfraud remained a concern.
- Myanmar's military-backed government says it is participating in a multinational effort to curb scam centres and is making efforts to seize narcotics; some industrial-scale centres in the Golden Triangle are run by militia aligned to it, while armed groups carry out drug production and trafficking.
- Japan's companies have maintained a large corporate presence in Myanmar even as other firms fled following the 2021 coup; the Japanese government says delisting would make it easier to do business and help Myanmar's economy recover.
- The United States held direct talks with Myanmar's military-backed government in Naypyidaw last month, the highest-level contact since the coup; the talks focused on shutting down scam centres and were followed by more secretive talks in Tokyo earlier this month.
- Min Aung Hlaing remains under sanctions from the United States for human rights abuses, including his role in the 2021 coup and crushing a popular uprising, while Japan and the United States re-engage with the military-backed government.
Why it matters: For Japan, whose companies retain a large corporate presence in Myanmar despite exits by other firms, removal from FATF's list would ease business and support Myanmar's economic recovery. For FATF's 40 members, the June assessment still identifies money-laundering enforcement gaps and cyberfraud concerns, making Friday's plenary a concrete compliance-versus-engagement decision.
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