Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khaihas urged drastic measures to lift Vietnam out of the FinancialAction Task Force (FATF)’s list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (greylist) within two years.

Chairing a meeting of the steering committee for moneylaundering prevention and combat on October 18, he said the FATF added Vietnam to the list in June2023. In response, the government sent a commitment to the FATF President aboutthe implementation of an FATF-recommended action plan over two years.

The inclusion in this list will cause adverse impacts on Vietnam,especially in terms of economy, trade, investment and internationalcooperation, he noted. The Asia/Pacific Group on MoneyLaundering (APG) recently came to work with the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) andrelevant agencies to seek ways to help remove the country from the greylist, he said.

Khaisaid that Vietnam has integrated into the world and must comply with commoninternational standards. Numerous solutions are required to have the countryremoved from the list, and the most complex issue is institutional reform.

The requirementsset by the FATF are highly urgent, and Vietnam has a very short time to carry out. If the country does not take proactive or effective moves, the situationwill become very complicated, the Deputy PM pointed out.

He asked the SBV, the standing body of thesteering committee, and related ministries and sectors to carry out the tasks at the soonest.

Pointing out the substantial impacts of the FATF’s officialinclusion of Vietnam in the grey list, SBV Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung called on ministries and agencies to coordinate with the central bank to performtasks.

Vietnam may be named in the EU’s list of high-riskcountry jurisdictions in terms of money laundering and in the FATF’s black listif it fails to prove that it is cooperating in implementing the FATA’s recommendations.If that is the case, particularly serious consequences will occur, forcing companiesto pay more for business expenses or even suspend operations, he warned.

It will also undermine Vietnam’s political stature andreputation in the international arena, and negatively affect the country’sexternal relations and finance - banking systems, Dung added.

He went on to say that in October 2023, the FATF also addedVietnam to the list of countries having activities of virtual asset serviceproviders of importance. Therefore, it may request the country carry outpriority measures to implement a legal framework for combating money launderingin terms of virtual assets.

Echoing the SBV’s view, Deputy Minister of ForeignAffairs Nguyen Minh Hang held that there remains a huge workload ahead to make things happen. The implementation of recommendations is a highly technical and legalissue requiring substantive measures.

The EU also named Vietnam in its grey list onAugust 18. Apart from the FATF’s grey list, the inclusion in the EU list willalso cause major impacts as Vietnam’s trade, financial, and banking relationswith EU countries are considerable, she said.

Hang suggested Vietnam consider the implementationof commitments as useful for not only minimising risks but also helping perfectregulations and policies, fight corruption and crimes, improve the investmentand business climate, and promote the country’s prestige.

At themeeting, officials looked into the draft national action plan for solving the risksof money laundering and terrorist financing for the 2023 - 2028 period. They alsodiscussed measures for ministries and sector to implement the PrimeMinister’s decision on issuing a national action plan on combating moneylaundering, terrorist financing, and financing of the proliferation ofweapons of mass destruction./.