Lebanon was added to the FATF’s ‘grey list’ for money laundering during the crisis

The global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF added Lebanon on Friday, which is currently the case are subject to Israeli airstrikes and invasionsto his “grey list” of countries subject to increased supervision of financial transactions.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force said it was added too AlgeriaAngola and Ivory Coast.

“Of course we recognize the extremely serious situation that Lebanon is currently facing,” said Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico, who currently holds the organization’s rotating chairmanship.

Lebanon’s inclusion on the gray list “should not hinder aid efforts and we are working to ensure that channels for humanitarian assistance remain open,” she added.

De Anda said the graylisting was not a “punitive measure” and was part of the process to help countries develop action plans to make improvements.

“I can tell you that a certain degree of flexibility has been granted to Lebanon when it comes to the deadlines set in the action plan,” she said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the gray list was “expected, given the known circumstances that hampered the passage of required legislation and financial reforms.”

Lebanon has been struggling with a crushing economic collapse which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, and which has hampered the work of public services and institutions.

The political standoff between allies of Hezbollah – an Iran-backed group that has been engaged in an all-out war with Israel since last month – and the movement’s opponents has also left the country without a president for almost two years.

“Lebanon’s relations with correspondent banks will not be affected” by the classification, Mikati said, according to a statement from his office.

“Lebanon will continue to cooperate” with the FATF and follow up on the action “to reverse it,” he added.

Senegal was removed from the gray list and the FATF noted improvements, including in its ability to investigate and prosecute money laundering cases related to corruption.

The FATF has made no changes to its ‘blacklist’ of countries against which countermeasures should be taken to protect the international financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from those countries.

Iran, Myanmar and North Korea are blacklisted.