The US Department of State published its 33rd annual report (INCSR for 2018) in March 2019 listing 81 Countries which are considered “Major Money Laundering Jurisdictions,” down from 91 just a year before. Countries no longer designated are: Cambodia, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Portugal, S Africa, Switzerland, Turkmenistan & Uruguay.
Countries on the INCSR 2018 (published in 2019) list with a match to the FATF high risk and other monitored jurisdictions list are: Bahamas, Ghana, Iran, Pakistan, Serbia & Trinidad & Tobago.
Being included on the INCSR list is not an indication that a jurisdiction is not making strong efforts to combat money laundering and therefore “is not a blacklist” nor are there Sanctions that apply. To put this into context however, advanced economies, such as the US, UK and Canada are also included on this list. Areas highlighted of particular concern in the report include: new technology including virtual currency especially in connection with MSB activity to facilitate cross border transfers, transparency of beneficial ownership, corruption, economic citizenship programmes and free trade zones.
