FATF Targets Crypto Hubs in Money Laundering Review
Update (Nov. 3, 2026, 7:35 am UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from an FATF spokesperson and additional details from its July 2026 report.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is launching a targeted review of jurisdictions with significant crypto activity to address gaps in how governments apply global anti-money laundering standards.
On Friday, the FATF, an intergovernmental body that sets global standards to combat money laundering, announced that the review would focus primarily on jurisdictions with “materially important” virtual asset service provider (VASP) activity, taking their existing assessment status into account.
A FATF spokesperson pointed to its July 2026 report, which lists FATF members and other jurisdictions with significant VASP activity. Jurisdictions in the table, including the US, UK, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates account for about 97% of the global virtual asset market.
The spokesperson did not confirm which jurisdictions from the existing list would be selected. Initial findings will be published in June 2027, with further results in October 2027.
For non-member jurisdictions, inclusion in the table requires a more than 0.25% of global crypto trading volume or a top-30 ranking for crypto ownership and adoption.
Inclusion in the table does not indicate a jurisdiction’s illicit finance risk or compliance with FATF standards.
Crypto laws outpace enforcement
The July report found that 83% of surveyed jurisdictions had adopted crypto Travel Rule legislation, while significant enforcement gaps persisted.
The Travel Rule requires crypto service providers to share information about the sender and recipient of transfers.
The report found that 55 of the 91 jurisdictions with Travel Rule laws had yet to take supervisory or enforcement action over compliance.
Authorities also struggled to identify unlicensed crypto businesses and oversee providers serving local customers from overseas.
Related: FATF urges faster crypto AML enforcement as stablecoin crime increases
