The Financial Action Task Force has launched a targeted review of jurisdictions with materially important virtual asset service provider activity, citing uneven implementation of global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards for crypto businesses.
Announced on October 30 after the FATF plenary in Paris held from October 28 to 30, the process will focus on countries selected according to their current assessment status. It is the first plenary under President Giles Thomson of the United Kingdom, attended by delegates from more than 200 jurisdictions, with Barbados, Namibia and Thailand present through the FATF Guest Initiative.
The review targets gaps in AML/CFT controls affecting virtual assets and crypto exchanges. FATF said criminal networks continue exploiting the cross-border nature of virtual assets and weaknesses in national implementation. It will complement existing mutual evaluation and follow-up processes rather than replace them.
FATF also plans closer engagement, training and capacity-building, while urging donors and technical assistance providers to prioritize jurisdictions facing significant challenges implementing Recommendation 15. The review will be followed by enhanced monitoring and accelerated reporting intended to increase accountability and transparency around identified deficiencies.
According to the FATF's seventh targeted update published on July 16, 2026, 83% of surveyed jurisdictions had adopted Travel Rule legislation, up 10% from the previous year. However, 55 of the 91 jurisdictions that adopted Travel Rule laws had not carried out enforcement action. Governments also reported difficulty identifying unlicensed operators and policing offshore platforms serving local users from abroad.
The FATF says jurisdictions with lots of crypto activity or materially important VASPs account for about 97% of the global virtual asset market, so weak enforcement in those hubs creates broad risk. President Thomson said, "Effective implementation of the FATF Standards can no longer be delayed." The body pointed to incidents in Cambodia, Spain and North Korea as examples of the damage caused by lack of enforcement.
Initial results are scheduled for publication in June 2027, with further findings due in October 2027. The FATF has not said which countries are affected or how many. Some jurisdictions are already preparing: Spain ended anonymous use of crypto ATMs and now requires identity checks on transactions, while Turkey passed its fifth-round mutual evaluation in September but was placed under enhanced follow-up due to a backlog of more than 7,000 unprosecuted financial-crime cases.
