FATF
·
FATF adds Kuwait and Papua New Guinea to its increased-monitoring grey list
FATF grey-listed Kuwait and Papua New Guinea, so firms with exposure to either must reclassify them as higher country risk
Change
On 13 February 2026 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added Kuwait and Papua New Guinea to its jurisdictions under increased monitoring (grey list), each under an agreed AML/CFT action plan — a change that reclassifies both as higher country risk for financial institutions and VASPs with exposure to them.
Why it matters
FATF newly added Kuwait and Papua New Guinea to the grey list under agreed action plans. For firms elsewhere, the operative change is the listing: country-risk models and risk-based EDD logic must now treat Kuwait and PNG exposure as increased-monitoring jurisdictions. The action plans themselves bind the two governments — Kuwait on DNFBP STR outreach, beneficial-ownership accuracy and cross-border-currency ML investigations; PNG on risk understanding, risk-based supervision of banks/MVTS/FX/DNFBPs, investigations, confiscation and PF targeted-financial-sanctions training. Both report progress to FATF. Grey-listing does not carry the call-for-action countermeasures applied to DPRK, Iran and Myanmar.
Implications
- — Sanctions and country-risk teams at financial institutions and VASPs with Kuwait or Papua New Guinea exposure must reclassify both as jurisdictions under increased monitoring in their country-risk models and apply the enhanced scrutiny their risk-based framework assigns to grey-listed countries — the listing is effective now, so exposure scored as ordinary country risk is out of date.
- — Onboarding and correspondent-banking teams must factor the new grey-list status into customer and counterparty risk ratings for Kuwait- and PNG-linked relationships, while noting FATF has not called for the blanket enhanced due diligence or countermeasures that apply to call-for-action jurisdictions — the treatment is risk-based, not a mandated countermeasure.
Who is affected
- — Sanctions and country-risk teams at financial institutions and VASPs with Kuwait or Papua New Guinea exposure
- — Onboarding and correspondent-banking teams rating Kuwait- and PNG-linked customers and counterparties
- — Kuwait and Papua New Guinea AML/CFT authorities responsible for delivering the agreed action plans