Outcomes Of The Plenary Meeting—FATF, Paris,

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Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Europe

Under the Spanish Presidency of Mr. Juan Manuel Vega-Serrano, the second Plenary meeting of Plenary year FATF-XXVIII was held.

Mr. Michel Sapin, French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, addressed the Plenary to emphasize FATF’s important role in ensuring the integrity of the international global system from threats such as terrorist financing, and his country’s commitment to increase the traction capacity of the FATF even further.

The main issues dealt with by this Plenary meeting were:

—Work on terrorist financing, which continues to be a priority for the FATF.

—FATF work on improving transparency and beneficial ownership.

—Impact of recent FATF work on de-risking.

—Discussion of the mutual evaluation report of Sweden.

—Two public documents identifying jurisdictions that may pose a risk to the international financial system.

Jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies for which a call for action applies
Jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies for which they have developed an action plan with the FATF

—Statement on Brazil’s progress in addressing the deficiencies identified in its mutual evaluation reports, since the FATF’s statement of October 2016.

—Forum of the Heads of FATF Financial Intelligence Units.

—Update on the activities of the FATF Training and Research Institute in Busan, Korea.

In the margins of the Plenary meeting, the FATF organised a Fintech and Regtech Roundtable. This first meeting involved representatives from the banking sector, engaged in Fintech activities. The discussions will feed into future events with representatives from the Fintech and Regtech communities. FATF aims to develop a constructive dialogue with both communities, in order to support a more effective implementation of the FATF Standards and innovation in financial services.

William Byrnes

William H. Byrnes has achieved authoritative prominence with more than 20 books, treatise chapters and book supplements, 1,000 media articles, and the monthly subscriber Tax Facts Intelligence. Titles include: Lexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance, Foreign Tax and Trade Briefs, Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing, and Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture; Recovery, and Compliance (a Global Guide). He is a principal author of the Tax Facts series. He was a Senior Manager, then Associate Director of international tax for Coopers and Lybrand, and practiced in Southern Africa, Western Europe, South East Asia, the Indian sub-continent, and the Caribbean. He has been commissioned by a number of governments on tax policy. Obtained the title of tenured law professor in 2005 at St. Thomas in Miami, and in 2008 the level of Associate Dean at Thomas Jefferson. William Byrnes pioneered online legal education in 1995, thereafter creating the first online LL.M. offered by an ABA accredited law school (International Taxation and Financial Services graduate program).