FATF Style Regional Bodies
Also written FSRBs · FSRB
The nine regional counterparts of the FATF — APG, CFATF, EAG, ESAAMLG, GABAC, GAFILAT, GIABA, MENAFATF and MONEYVAL — which with FATF form the global AML/CFT network; India belongs to APG and EAG.
In plain language
The FATF has 40 members, but its Standards are meant for the whole world — more than 200 countries and jurisdictions have committed to implement them. The gap between 40 and 200 is filled by regional bodies.
FATF-Style Regional Bodies do for their regions what FATF does globally: promote the Recommendations and evaluate how well member jurisdictions implement them. The FATF's core work is to conduct mutual evaluations of its members and to guide and assist the regional bodies in conducting mutual evaluations of theirs.
For an IFSC regulated entity the FSRBs matter in a practical way: their evaluation reports are among the credible sources it is expected to use when judging whether a customer's country is high risk.
How it works
The nine FSRBs (Chapter 8, section 8.4).
| # | Body | Based in |
|---|---|---|
| i | Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) | Sydney, Australia |
| ii | Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| iii | Eurasian Group (EAG) | Moscow, Russia |
| iv | Eastern & Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| v | Central Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (GABAC) | Libreville, Gabon |
| vi | Latin America Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAFILAT) | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| vii | West Africa Money Laundering Group (GIABA) | Dakar, Senegal |
| viii | Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) | Manama, Bahrain |
| ix | Council of Europe Anti-Money Laundering Group (MONEYVAL) | Strasbourg, France (Council of Europe) |
The global network. The APG, together with the FATF and the other eight regional bodies, constitutes a global network to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, with the FATF's 40 Recommendations as the principal standards.
India's memberships (Chapter 1, section 1.3.2). India became a member of FATF in 2010, and is a member of two FSRBs — the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and the Eurasian Group of Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG).
Assessment. Chapter 8 also records that countries and jurisdictions are assessed with the help of nine FATF Associate Member organisations and other global partners, the IMF and World Bank.
Use in customer risk. Among the country or geographic high-risk factors is whether a jurisdiction is identified by credible sources, such as mutual evaluation or detailed assessment reports or published follow-up reports, as not having adequate AML/CFT systems.
A worked example
Illustrative.
Godavari Asset Managers (IFSC) receives 3 investor applications in a week and has to assess country risk for each.
| Investor's country | Region | Relevant evaluation body | What Godavari does |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Caribbean island state | Caribbean | CFATF, Port of Spain | Reads the latest mutual evaluation and follow-up report; notes significant deficiencies in beneficial ownership transparency; rates country risk higher |
| A West African state | West Africa | GIABA, Dakar | Evaluation shows adequate systems with minor follow-up items; no uplift |
| A Central Asian state | Eurasia | EAG, Moscow — one of the 2 FSRBs India belongs to | Evaluation shows several recommendations only partly implemented; country risk treated as elevated |
For the Caribbean investor, the higher country risk combines with a complex ownership chain, and the customer risk assessment produces a high rating — enhanced due diligence follows.
The numbers behind the table. There are 9 FSRBs. India joined FATF in 2010 and belongs to 2 FSRBs, APG and EAG. FATF itself has 40 members, while more than 200 countries and jurisdictions have committed to its Standards.
The exam version of this table is simpler: match each of the 9 acronyms to its region and its seat. APG–Sydney, CFATF–Port of Spain, EAG–Moscow, ESAAMLG–Dar es Salaam, GABAC–Libreville, GAFILAT–Buenos Aires, GIABA–Dakar, MENAFATF–Manama, MONEYVAL–Strasbourg.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 8 (Financial Action Task Force and Its Recommendations), section 8.4, lists the nine FSRBs with their seats and describes the global network; Chapter 1, section 1.3.2, gives India's membership of APG and EAG and FATF's role in guiding FSRB evaluations; Chapter 6, section 6.1.2(b), makes mutual evaluation reports a source for country risk. Expect a count question (nine), a match-the-seat question, and India's two FSRBs.
Common exam traps
- Nine FSRBs, not eight — Chapter 8's "other eight regional bodies" is counted alongside APG.
- India is in two: APG and EAG. It is not in MENAFATF or MONEYVAL.
- MONEYVAL is the Council of Europe body in Strasbourg; GAFILAT is Latin America in Buenos Aires; GABAC is Central Africa in Libreville; GIABA is West Africa in Dakar.
- FATF guides and assists FSRBs in their mutual evaluations — FSRBs evaluate their own member jurisdictions.
- India joined FATF in 2010.
- FATF has 40 members; more than 200 jurisdictions have committed to its Standards — the FSRBs are how the rest are reached.
Check yourself
1.How many FATF-Style Regional Bodies are there, and which one covers India?
- a)Five; MENAFATF, based in Manama
- b)Nine; the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), based in Sydney
- c)Nine; MONEYVAL, based in Strasbourg
- d)Three; the Eurasian Group, based in Moscow
Show the answer
Answer: (b) Nine; the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), based in Sydney
Nine FATF-Style Regional Bodies have been established, the first listed being the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) based in Sydney, Australia — the regional body covering India.
The full list: APG (Sydney) · Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) · Eurasian Group (EAG) (Moscow) · Eastern & Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) · Central Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (GABAC) (Libreville, Gabon) · Latin America Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAFILAT) (Buenos Aires) · West Africa Money Laundering Group (GIABA) (Dakar, Senegal) · Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) (Manama, Bahrain) · Council of Europe Anti-Money Laundering Group (MONEYVAL) (Strasbourg, France).
Options A and D understate the number; option C names the right number but the European body.
What they do together: the APG, in conjunction with the FATF and the other eight regional bodies, constitute a global network to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The FATF's 40 recommendations are the principal standards to combat these crimes.
They are also the assessment partners mentioned earlier: countries and jurisdictions are assessed with the help of nine FATF Associate Member organisations and other global partners, the IMF and World Bank.
Nine Associate Members, nine regional bodies — the same nine.
Why the network matters. FATF itself is the 40-member body, but more than 200 countries and jurisdictions have committed to implement the FATF's Standards. The regional bodies extend the assessment machinery to countries that are not FATF members.
And the overall effect: FATF promotes sharing of best practices, guides reforms in member and non-member states, and updates standards to address risks from emerging threats such as cryptocurrencies and proliferation financing.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series IFSCA-01Related terms
- Customer risk assessmentThe IFSCA requirement to assess every customer and give it a high, medium or low ML/TF risk rating before CDD begins — the rating that decides simplified, standard or enhanced due diligence.
- FATFThe intergovernmental body founded in 1989 that writes the global AML/CFT standards — the 40 Recommendations plus IX Special Recommendations — and grey-lists or black-lists countries that fail them.
- FATF PlenaryThe FATF's decision-making body, meeting three times a year, which holds countries to account for non-compliance and can name them Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring or High Risk Jurisdictions.
- FATF StandardsThe FATF Recommendations together with their Interpretive Notes and the applicable Glossary definitions — the international AML/CFT/PF standard that more than 200 jurisdictions have committed to implement.
- FATF grey listThe informal name for FATF's list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring — countries working with FATF that have committed to fix identified strategic deficiencies swiftly within agreed timeframes.
- FATF PresidentThe senior official the FATF Plenary appoints from among its members to chair the Plenary and the Steering Group, serving a two-year term that runs from 1 July to 30 June.