HM Treasury money laundering advisory notice: High-risk third countries

HM Treasury released an advisory notice relating to High-Risk Third Countries (HRTC) on 22 January.

This statutory instrument came into force on 23 January 2024 and amends the definition of HRTC. It will remove Schedule 3ZA containing the list of HRTCs in the Money Laundering Regulations.

Instead of referring to a separate schedule, Regulation 33(3)(a) will now define an HRTC as:

• a country named on either of the following lists published by the Financial Action Task Force, as they have effect from time to time -

(i) High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action;
(ii) Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring.

No countries have been added or removed as a result of this change. The next update to the FATF lists is expected on the final day of the FATF Plenary, on 23 February 2024.

The onus will now be on each practice to keep abreast of the FATF lists, which can be found here.

Further information about the changes and where and when the the FATF lists are updated can be found here.