FATF Grey List and Blacklist Countries in 2026: Full List

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) publishes two lists of countries with weak controls against money laundering and terrorist financing, and banks around the world read both. In this post, we’ll give you the full FATF grey list and blacklist as they stand in October 2026, the date each country was listed, the EU tax list beside them, and where the main offshore centres sit on each.

Quick Summary

• The FATF blacklist has 3 countries as of 19 June 2026: North Korea, Iran and Myanmar.

• The FATF grey list has 22 jurisdictions as of 19 June 2026, with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq added in June and Algeria and Namibia removed.

• The FATF’s next plenary and working group meetings run from 26 to 30 October 2026, so both lists can change at the end of this month.

• The FATF does not call for enhanced due diligence on grey list countries, but it encourages every country to take a listing into account in its risk analysis.

• The EU tax list, revised on 9 October 2026, has 8 jurisdictions in Annex I and 10 in Annex II.

• Of 16 major offshore centres, 12 are on no list, Seychelles included, while the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Vanuatu and Anguilla each appear on one or more.

FATF Blacklist Countries in 2026

The blacklist is the FATF’s statement on High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action. It names countries with serious strategic deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

*As of 19 June 2026, the latest FATF statement.*

For North Korea, the countermeasures include ending correspondent relationships with its banks, closing their branches and subsidiaries, and limiting business with North Korean persons. For Iran, they include a ban on new correspondent relationships with Iranian financial institutions.

Myanmar sits one step lower. The FATF asks for enhanced due diligence proportionate to the risk, and it has said it will consider countermeasures if Myanmar makes no further progress by October 2026.

FATF Grey List Countries in 2026

The grey list is the FATF’s statement on Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring. Each country on it has made a high-level political commitment to fix named weaknesses under an action plan with deadlines. The date below is the month the FATF records that commitment.

*As of 19 June 2026, the latest FATF statement. The October 2026 plenary had not been held when this post was written.*

The FATF lists the British Virgin Islands as “Virgin Islands (UK)”.

Changes in 2026 so far:

• February 2026: Kuwait and Papua New Guinea were added, and no country was removed.

• June 2026: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq were added, and Algeria and Namibia were removed.

A country leaves the list in two steps. The FATF first decides that the action plan is substantially complete, then sends an on-site team to confirm the reforms are in place. Bulgaria, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Monaco reached the first step in June 2026.

What the FATF Grey List Means for a Company

A grey listing is not a sanction, and it does not ban business with the country. The FATF’s own statement says it does not call for enhanced due diligence on grey list jurisdictions, and that its standards do not envisage cutting off entire classes of customers. It encourages every country to take the listing into account in its risk analysis.

That risk analysis is where a company feels it. The Basel Committee’s guidelines on money laundering risk say a bank should weigh a customer’s country of origin and residence, business activities and source of income and wealth, and take into account the risks of customers from jurisdictions known to have strategic deficiencies. Under those guidelines:

• higher-risk customers get enhanced due diligence, which can include senior management approval of the relationship

• the bank asks for the source of a customer’s funds, income or wealth where necessary

• each bank’s acceptance policy defines the circumstances in which it would not accept a new business relationship

The same factors sit behind why offshore bank accounts get rejected, and behind the AML and KYC checks a provider runs before forming a company.

The blacklist works differently. For those three countries the FATF calls on every jurisdiction to apply enhanced due diligence, and for North Korea and Iran countermeasures as well.

EU List of Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdictions

The EU list measures something else. The FATF lists cover money laundering and terrorist financing controls. The EU list covers tax governance: tax transparency, fair taxation and measures against profit shifting. A country can be on one and not the other.

The EU Council revised its list on 9 October 2026 in Council conclusions 13854/26. Annex I is the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. Annex II records jurisdictions that are cooperating and have open commitments to meet. Against the list of 17 February 2026, the revision moved Panama and Viet Nam from Annex I to Annex II and removed Belize from Annex II.

*As of the 9 October 2026 revision.*

Only the British Virgin Islands and Vietnam appear on both the FATF grey list and an EU annex. The British Virgin Islands is in Annex II on a commitment to request and be granted an in-depth Global Forum review of its exchange of information on request by 15 February 2027.

Which Offshore Jurisdictions Are on No List

The table sets 16 of the main offshore incorporation centres against all four lists.

*FATF columns as of 19 June 2026. EU columns as of 9 October 2026.*

Twelve of the 16 are on no list. Seychelles is one of them: it is on neither FATF list, and the EU removed it from Annex II on 17 February 2026. We cover how a Seychelles company is taxed and listed in a separate post.

A clean row does not replace checks on the company itself. A bank still assesses the company’s owners, activity and payment flows whatever its country of incorporation.

When the Lists Are Updated

The FATF issues both statements three times a year, at the end of each plenary in February, June and October. The EU Council has revised its list every February and October since 2021.

Plenary dates come from the FATF calendar.

FAQ

How many countries are on the FATF grey list?

There are 22 jurisdictions on the FATF grey list as of 19 June 2026. The number was also 22 after the February 2026 plenary, because the two additions in June were matched by two removals.

What are high-risk jurisdictions?

In FATF terms, high-risk jurisdictions are the countries on the blacklist, which the FATF calls High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action: North Korea, Iran and Myanmar as of 19 June 2026. The 22 grey list jurisdictions are a separate category, under increased monitoring. The EU keeps its own list of high-risk third countries, drawn up by the European Commission under its anti-money laundering directive and separate from the EU tax list. Banks and other firms the directive covers must apply enhanced due diligence to business relationships or transactions involving a country on it.

Is the UAE on the FATF grey list?

No. The United Arab Emirates is not on the FATF grey list or the blacklist as of 19 June 2026, and it is in neither annex of the EU tax list revised on 9 October 2026.

Is China on the FATF list?

No. China is not on the FATF blacklist or the grey list as of 19 June 2026, and it is in neither annex of the EU tax list revised on 9 October 2026. China has been a member of the FATF since 2007.

Is Seychelles blacklisted?

No. Seychelles is not on the FATF blacklist or the FATF grey list as of 19 June 2026. It is also on neither annex of the EU tax list: the EU removed it from Annex II on 17 February 2026, and the 9 October 2026 revision left that unchanged.