India becomes full member of global financial watchdog FATF

India has become a full-fledged member of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body responsible for setting global standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

India's membership follows an evaluation of India's compliance with the `40+9' recommendations of FATF by a joint FATF-Asia Pacific group mutual evaluation team in November-December 2009.

India´s membership issues were discussed in the third meeting of FATF's eleventh plenary session held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 23 to 25 June 2010. The FATF plenary adopted the mutual evaluation report on India on 24 and 25 June 2010 and admitted India as 34th country member of FATF.

Earlier, India had become observer at FATF in 2006. Since then, India has been working towards full-fledged membership of FATF.

FATF membership is very important for India in its quest to become a major player in international finance. It will also help India to build the capacity to fight terrorism and trace terrorist money and to successfully investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing offences. India will also benefit from a more transparent and stable financial system that will ensure that its financial institutions are not vulnerable to infiltration or abuse by organised crime groups.

The FATF process will also help India in co-ordination of anti-money laundering and in combating the financing of terrorism at the international level.