The Top 10  Most Difficult Countries for Identity Verification

The Top 10  Most Difficult Countries for Identity Verification

Download Report

    n-img-roi-cross

    Before You Go, Schedule Your Free Demo Today

    Valid Invalid number


    Note: Fields marked with an asterisk(*) are mandatory.

    n-exit-img-roi-cross

    Thank you for your demo request

    We appreciate your interest and look forward to discussing how our solution can meet your needs. Expect to hear from us shortly with scheduling details.

    Close

    FATF’s High-Risk Jurisdictions [2022 Update] – How Business Can Comply

    b-img-fatf

    Paris-based global watchdog FATF (Financial Action Task Force) maintains lists of countries that are considered to have inadequate measures for preventing financial crimes. Money laundering and terrorist financing are a constant and prevalent threat to the global financial sector. Governments and local authorities adopt Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) legislation to regulate financial institutions. 

    AML/CFT measures allow business and financial institutions to detect and mitigate the risks of financial crimes that can lead them to legal problems and hefty penalties. That being said, the AML/CFT measures adopted by different countries around the world vary depending on the legislation.

    Countries with Inadequate AML Measures

    Countries that do not implement stringent regulations for AML/CFT experience report regular instances of money laundering and corruption in financial operations and government institutions. For instance, the Russian invasion of Ukraine gave rise to money laundering through real estate, art, and luxury yachts. Wealthy Russians began looking for ways to obscure the origins of the money they obtained due to close ties with Putin. 

    Countries with inadequate AML/CFT measures offer great investment opportunities to money launderers due to the absence of AML screening measures. As a result, businesses operating in these high-risk jurisdictions face the problem of establishing trust among their legitimate customers. Businesses are then forced to take preventive steps to avoid becoming the source of financial crime like money laundering and terrorist financing. 

    According to the FATF, high-risk countries and jurisdictions are those areas that do not cooperate in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF analyses the deficiencies in the countermeasures taken by these countries against money laundering and also considers the country’s status in the Transparency Index

    High-Risk AML Countries 

    Countries that do not adhere to international regulations are subject to increased monitoring and are added to FATF’s lists of high-risk jurisdictions. The first list is the FATF grey list, which includes the countries that need to make improvements in their AML regime. The global watchdog also maintains the lists of High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action and Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring that are updated three times a year.

    The FATF also issues tasks and guidelines to these countries to work on mitigating the shortcomings that make them high-risk jurisdictions. The EU and the US have already made efforts to comply with FATF standards and established their own lists of high-risk countries. However, these lists have been created with the same criteria as the FATF’s grey list and black list. 

    The EU’s AMLD classifies high-risk countries into four categories, which include countries that don’t have AML/CFT systems at all, countries that experience corruption, countries facing sanctions or having terrorist organizations within their boundaries. Regulated financial institutions in each country are advised to adopt a risk-based approach based on the criteria given by the FATF.

    FATF Lists of High-Risk Countries

    The FATF maintains a grey list, also known as the list of Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring, and a blacklist, which lists countries subject to a Call for Action. Countries on the FATF’s grey list pose a greater risk of money laundering and terrorism financing. However, these countries have shown commitment to addressing the risks and working towards improving their AML/CFT systems.

    FATF’s blacklist includes countries that are identified to be highly risky in terms of money laundering and terrorism financing. For businesses operating within these countries, or those taking services from companies based in these countries, the FATF calls for the implementation of Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) measures.

    b-img-country

    In cases where money laundering cases are a serious issue, authorities urge the blacklisted countries to implement robust AML compliance measures to prevent the global financial landscape from facing the risks of financial crime. FATF’s blacklist currently has only two countries: North Korea, and Iran, and the list has remained unchanged since 2020.

    The story is not the same for countries placed on the FATF’s grey list, as they constantly become part of the headlines. When the global watchdog places a country on the grey list, it means that the country needs to work on its strategies to combat money laundering. When the FATF sees that a country placed on the grey list is making significant progress, it doesn’t impose sanctions and even removes them from the list in case all conditions are met.

    Countries placed on the grey list do face sanctions when they lack adequate measures to counter financial crimes, including sanctions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Once a country is sanctioned by these authorities, it means that no external business entity would want to carry out trade with it, leading to a badly affected economy. Regulated financial institutions like banks need to incorporate measures to avoid being fined by local regulators that keep an eye on their operations.

    Regulated Financial Institutions

    Local banks and other regulated financial institutions in countries under increased monitoring are obliged to comply with international AML/CFT standards. They are required to detect the risks of money laundering through a risk-based approach and report suspicious activities to the relevant authorities. Customer due diligence is a mandatory process in which businesses need to verify the identities of their customers and perform AML screening to identify suspicious trends in transactions. In case of high-risk jurisdictions, or dealing with businesses based in grey-listed countries, businesses need to implement Enhanced Due Diligence procedures. EDD allows financial firms to determine the risks coming from external entities such as third-parties and politically exposed persons

    Key Takeaways

    Every financial institution as well as non-financial firm needs to take effective steps to determine and assess money launder and terrorist financing risks, including potential customers like politically exposed persons, and high-risk jurisdictions. However, the following are some crucial points that businesses need to keep in mind before making ties with companies operating in high-risk third countries.

    1. Businesses need to take extra security measures before making B2B partnerships as high-risk countries are often subject to financial sanctions.
    2. Global regulatory authorities mandate businesses to practice simple and enhanced due diligence procedures for high-risk customers including verifying their transactions to reduce the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.

    While it’s not always true that customers from high-risk jurisdictions are part of financial crime schemes or are involved in criminal proceedings, but indicates a greater risk that requires rigid verification protocols. Therefore, businesses need to be more vigilant in assessing the risk factors associated with suspicious clients from countries enlisted in global financial crimes sanction lists.

    1. Develop and practice a risk-based approach to identify the need for enhanced due diligence.
    2. Integrating anti-money laundering screening solutions to verify customers against sanction lists, global watchlists, financial crime databases, politically exposed persons, adverse media and other available records.

    However, while there are heaps of regulatory obligations for businesses that intend to make ties with customers in high-risk third countries, yet, enhanced due diligence is the most important part of the verification process. 

    To do so, companies need to go the extra mile and incorporate Shufti’s robust AML Screening solution, which helps them determine the source of income and authenticate transactions before they are made. In this way, businesses can be sure that money launderers and terrorist financing groups get caught before they make any suspicious moves.

    Want to learn more about our AML Screening solution for your business?

    Related Posts

    Blog

    Blockchain and Identity Theft: Potential Challenges and how to Tackle Them

    Blockchain has become increasingly popular because of its potential to provide secure transaction...

    Blockchain and Identity Theft: Potential Challenges and how to Tackle Them Explore More

    Blog

    Healthcare Industry and Prevailing Crimes – What Shufti Can Offer

    Over the recent years, the medicare industry has completely transformed, and emerging innovations...

    Healthcare Industry and Prevailing Crimes – What Shufti Can Offer Explore More

    Blog

    Estonia’s AML Act Amendments – Securing Virtual Currencies in 2022

    Estonia’s financial institutions are developed and ensure transparency as its laws are well-defin...

    Estonia’s AML Act Amendments – Securing Virtual Currencies in 2022 Explore More

    Blog

    How Businesses Can Avoid Identity Verification Fraud in 2019?

    With a bulk of customers using online services, businesses wish to digitise their operations and ...

    How Businesses Can Avoid Identity Verification Fraud in 2019? Explore More

    Blog

    5 Benefits of Optical Character Recognition in the Classroom

    Optical Character Recognition (OCR) goes beyond just processing documents and boosting businesses...

    5 Benefits of Optical Character Recognition in the Classroom Explore More

    Blog

    Shufti Marks 4 Years of Streamlining KYC and AML for Global Businesses

    October 2021 marks four complete years since the launch of Shufti. As years begin to stack, t...

    Shufti Marks 4 Years of Streamlining KYC and AML for Global Businesses Explore More

    Blog

    NFC Verification – Securing Large-scale Events from Frauds

    Large-scale events are a great way for imposters to execute their illicit plans. Data breaches, m...

    NFC Verification – Securing Large-scale Events from Frauds Explore More

    Blog

    China’s Data Protection and Privacy Laws | 2023 Update

    China has witnessed massive growth in the last few decades. However, the rise of the digital econ...

    China’s Data Protection and Privacy Laws | 2023 Update Explore More

    Blog

    Impact of COVID-19 on disruptive Fintech industry

    The economy and society worldwide are affected by the corona crisis. The effects of COVID-19 on b...

    Impact of COVID-19 on disruptive Fintech industry Explore More

    Blog

    Know Your Donor (KYD) – Customer Due Diligence For Charities and NPOs

    According to DoubleTheDonation, 45% of worldwide donors are enrolled in monthly donation programs...

    Know Your Donor (KYD) – Customer Due Diligence For Charities and NPOs Explore More

    Blog

    KYC Isn’t Enough: Get Ready for the Future of Verification

    Over the past few years, companies have been looking for more sophisticated identity verification...

    KYC Isn’t Enough: Get Ready for the Future of Verification Explore More

    Blog

    KYC screening vs One time passwords – what’s good for your business?

    Customer due diligence sometimes tests the nerves of strategists and compliance officers. With mu...

    KYC screening vs One time passwords – what’s good for your business? Explore More

    Blog

    How to protect your online gaming platform from ID frauds?

    Gone are the days when online gaming was only restricted to LAN parties. With the development of ...

    How to protect your online gaming platform from ID frauds? Explore More

    Blog

    KYC Services For ICOs – Why you need to have them now?

    KYC services play a vital role in conducting an ICO in more than one way. They can make the entir...

    KYC Services For ICOs – Why you need to have them now? Explore More

    Blog

    AML Verification Services: Fighting Back Financial Crimes in 2023

    The Covid-19 outbreak has increased reliance on eCommerce and digital banking — cultivating a lus...

    AML Verification Services: Fighting Back Financial Crimes in 2023 Explore More

    Blog

    AI-based IDV Can Effectively Curb Unemployment Insurance Fraud

    Throughout the United States, an emerging scam has taken the nation by storm. Unemployment Insura...

    AI-based IDV Can Effectively Curb Unemployment Insurance Fraud Explore More

    Blog, Fraud Prevention

    Internet of Things: B2B IoT Segments about to hit $300 Billion by 2020

    The Internet of Things is growing exponentially with respect to its usage and capabilities. A who...

    Internet of Things: B2B IoT Segments about to hit $300 Billion by 2020 Explore More

    Blog

    The Top Use Cases of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Technology

    Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology has transformed how businesses collect, process, a...

    The Top Use Cases of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Technology Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    Secure Online Gaming with Digital KYC

    Here is a scenario that shows the importance of having a digital KYC system integrated with your ...

    Secure Online Gaming with Digital KYC Explore More

    Blog

    DoorDash Falls in the pit of Data Breach – Affects 4.9 Million Users

    Security breaches are increasing in number with every passing day. This keeps on happening. It wo...

    DoorDash Falls in the pit of Data Breach – Affects 4.9 Million Users Explore More

    Blog

    Risk Assessment – Building Trust in Financial Institutions

    For financial institutions to hold onto their customers, they must build and conserve advanced le...

    Risk Assessment – Building Trust in Financial Institutions Explore More

    Blog

    The State of Money Laundering in The United States – How Shufti Can Help

    The United States of America is among the first countries that took effective measures to fight f...

    The State of Money Laundering in The United States – How Shufti Can Help Explore More

    Blog

    AML Screening – Identifying and Overcoming Challenger Banks’ Weaknesses

    There are approximately 77 challenger banks in Europe alone, the best range amongst the other reg...

    AML Screening – Identifying and Overcoming Challenger Banks’ Weaknesses Explore More

    Blog

    Rising Social Media Scams in 2020 Calling for Digital Identity Verification

    Social media was a simple place for interaction a few years back. People valued it for its securi...

    Rising Social Media Scams in 2020 Calling for Digital Identity Verification Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    How Identity Verification Makes Remote Account Opening Efficient for Banks

    Banks have a lot to benefit from the remote account opening service as it allows them to bring a ...

    How Identity Verification Makes Remote Account Opening Efficient for Banks Explore More

    Blog, Financial Crime / AML

    Impact of Regulatory Scrutiny & AML Compliance in Real Estate

    Anti Money Laundering (AML): Criminals around the globe are targeting real estate to launder the ...

    Impact of Regulatory Scrutiny & AML Compliance in Real Estate Explore More

    Blog

    KYC & AML Regulations in the UK: An Ultimate Guide

    Financial crimes have been around since the invention of money. Some argue that their origins are...

    KYC & AML Regulations in the UK: An Ultimate Guide Explore More

    Blog

    Top 5 Payment Trends Transforming the Commerce Sector in 2021

    Financial markets across the globe saw many unpredictable changes due to the pandemic last year. ...

    Top 5 Payment Trends Transforming the Commerce Sector in 2021 Explore More

    Blog

    Five Solutions to tackle business verification challenges

    Know Your Customer (KYC) is critical for verifying the clients before doing business with them, b...

    Five Solutions to tackle business verification challenges Explore More

    Blog

    Strengthening digital businesses with online age verification

    It is projected that by the end of 2021, 2.4 billion will buy products and services online, up 46...

    Strengthening digital businesses with online age verification Explore More

    Blog

    Warning Signs of ICO Scams and the Role of Identity Verification Service

    If you have heard of Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies then you must have heard of ICOs or Initial Co...

    Warning Signs of ICO Scams and the Role of Identity Verification Service Explore More

    Blog

    Identity Verification: A Bulletproof Vest Against Sharing Economy Fraud

    Over the previous year, you might have observed how the world has become increasingly dependent o...

    Identity Verification: A Bulletproof Vest Against Sharing Economy Fraud Explore More

    Blog

    Cross-Border KYC Compliance | Understanding and Overcoming the Challenges

    To handle money laundering incidents and rising regulatory pressure, the banking industry benefit...

    Cross-Border KYC Compliance | Understanding and Overcoming the Challenges Explore More

    Blog

    10 High-Risk Jurisdictions for Money Laundering According to FATF

    Innovations like stablecoins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) created quite the hype in the past ye...

    10 High-Risk Jurisdictions for Money Laundering According to FATF Explore More

    Blog

    KYC and AML: The Key to Secure BNPL Services in 2023

    Seems like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services have taken the world by storm, with 360 million user...

    KYC and AML: The Key to Secure BNPL Services in 2023 Explore More

    Blog

    Why online alcohol industry needs robust age verification solutions?

    “Can I see some ID?” The question brick and mortar booze stores ask or at least should ask to ver...

    Why online alcohol industry needs robust age verification solutions? Explore More

    Blog

    Facial Recognition Kiosks: A Modern Innovation in the Food Industry?

    Background of Technological Advancement Technology is regarded as a new way of thinking or doing ...

    Facial Recognition Kiosks: A Modern Innovation in the Food Industry? Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    How Identity Verification Makes Remote Account Opening Efficient for Banks

    Banks have a lot to benefit from the remote account opening service as it allows them to bring a ...

    How Identity Verification Makes Remote Account Opening Efficient for Banks Explore More

    Blog

    Secure Your Digital Presence | Combat Transaction Fraud and Cyberthreats with IDV

    Financial crimes, especially payment and transaction fraud, have seen a massive surge in recent y...

    Secure Your Digital Presence | Combat Transaction Fraud and Cyberthreats with IDV Explore More

    Blog

    The Digital Black Market for Identity Data

    The collection, purchase, or trade of customer data is big business. Unless organizations and ind...

    The Digital Black Market for Identity Data Explore More

    Blog

    Post-pandemic eCommerce Landscape Calling for Robust ID Verification Solution

    During the coronavirus pandemic, the e-commerce industry has witnessed a significant increase in ...

    Post-pandemic eCommerce Landscape Calling for Robust ID Verification Solution Explore More

    Blog

    The Power of Robotic Process Automation in the Banking Industry

    Entering into the fourth industrial revolution, business processes are shifted to the digital sph...

    The Power of Robotic Process Automation in the Banking Industry Explore More

    Blog

    5 Ways How AI Is Uprooting Recruitment Industry

    Artificial Intelligence is strengthening its position in many industries and the recruitment indu...

    5 Ways How AI Is Uprooting Recruitment Industry Explore More

    Blog

    Know Your Investor | Sophisticated Investor Verification in Real-Time

    In today’s data-driven digital world, organized crime groups and fraudsters have developed more s...

    Know Your Investor |  Sophisticated Investor Verification in Real-Time Explore More

    Blog

    NFC Verification – Securing Large-scale Events from Frauds

    Large-scale events are a great way for imposters to execute their illicit plans. Data breaches, m...

    NFC Verification – Securing Large-scale Events from Frauds Explore More

    Blog

    Ensuring Compliance and Securing Business Reputation – How Shufti Can Help

    In the highly digitized world, businesses are partnering with each other to serve mutual interest...

    Ensuring Compliance and Securing Business Reputation – How Shufti Can Help Explore More

    Blog

    KYC & AML Regulations in the UK: An Ultimate Guide

    Financial crimes have been around since the invention of money. Some argue that their origins are...

    KYC & AML Regulations in the UK: An Ultimate Guide Explore More

    Blog

    How Shufti Ensures Gaming Regulatory Compliance with AML Screening for Online Gaming Platforms

    The online gaming sector has revolutionized altogether along with emerging technologies. With adv...

    How Shufti Ensures Gaming Regulatory Compliance with AML Screening for Online Gaming Platforms Explore More

    Blog, Reg Tech

    How does CDD effectively help with AML Compliance?

    CDD or customer due diligence in the banking sector and other financial firms is an important asp...

    How does CDD effectively help with AML Compliance? Explore More

    Blog

    Shufti’s ID Fraud Report: Reviewing 2022 and a Preview of 2023

    Twenty years back, “identity theft” was imagined as pictures of shady figures rifling through gar...

    Shufti’s ID Fraud Report: Reviewing 2022 and a Preview of 2023 Explore More

    Blog

    Crypto Regulations 2021 – What Digital Currency Providers Need to do

    Cryptocurrency has been a hot topic ever since its advent in 2009. The ability to draw investor a...

    Crypto Regulations 2021 – What Digital Currency Providers Need to do Explore More

    Blog

    How Optical Character Recognition is Changing the Financial Industry

    Banking and other financial services are the world’s most closely watched and strictly gove...

    How Optical Character Recognition is Changing the Financial Industry Explore More

    Blog

    Holiday Season Scams – 5 Ways Identity Verification Can Help You

    The holiday season brings in a lot of joy and harmony for everyone. From thanksgiving to new year...

    Holiday Season Scams – 5 Ways Identity Verification Can Help You Explore More

    Blog

    Transaction Monitoring: Going Beyond AML Screening

    Whether you are an accountant in Wall Street or a developer for Google, money laundering will not...

    Transaction Monitoring: Going Beyond AML Screening Explore More

    Blog

    Enhancing security in the cryptocurrency world with KYC verification

    Almost 20 years after the legislation on combating money laundering, regulators around the world ...

    Enhancing security in the cryptocurrency world with KYC verification Explore More

    Blog

    The Top 10 Benefits of the Know Your Customer Lifecycle

    In this digital age, where transactions occur remotely and identity theft is rising, establishing...

    The Top 10 Benefits of the Know Your Customer Lifecycle Explore More

    Blog

    A Detailed Insight into the Best Practices for Digital Currency Providers

    The world has seen an overwhelming rate of development in the cryptocurrency sector with Centrali...

    A Detailed Insight into the Best Practices for Digital Currency Providers Explore More

    Blog

    Enhanced Due Diligence Checks | The Art of Mitigating Risks Associated with Third-Parties

    For multinational businesses, reliance on external third-party vendors is crucial. However, failu...

    Enhanced Due Diligence Checks | The Art of Mitigating Risks Associated with Third-Parties Explore More

    Blog, Business Technology, Financial Crime / AML, Identity & KYC, Online Marketplace

    Know Your Business: The Next Step in Identity Verification

    The complex regulatory environment and increased exposure to illegal activities indicate that bus...

    Know Your Business: The Next Step in Identity Verification Explore More

    Blog

    7 Things Businesses Should Know About Online Face Recognition Solutions

    One might be good at identifying faces. People find it a cinch to recognise a friend’s or f...

    7 Things Businesses Should Know About Online Face Recognition Solutions Explore More

    Blog, Fraud Prevention, Online Marketplace

    Why Digital KYC is Important for Insurance Fraud Prevention

    KYC For Insurance Companies : Basically, a system that can carry out real-time identity verificat...

    Why Digital KYC is Important for Insurance Fraud Prevention Explore More

    Blog

    Identity verification in freelancing- no more smoke and mirrors

    Freelancing platforms are rapidly growing. In 2017, around 57 million Americans were freelancing ...

    Identity verification in freelancing- no more smoke and mirrors Explore More

    Blog

    Enhanced Due Diligence – How to Identify and Deal with High-Risk Customers

    Business relationships always come with associated risks that require carefully implemented measu...

    Enhanced Due Diligence – How to Identify and Deal with High-Risk Customers Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    Fraud Prevention in Real Estate Industry

    Fraud prevention tools that include3rd-party KYC service providers are essential in the real esta...

    Fraud Prevention in Real Estate Industry Explore More

    Blog

    Top 5 Challenges in Online Identity Verification

    The online ecosystem of identity management is more dynamic than ever before. It’s a flexible and...

    Top 5 Challenges in Online Identity Verification Explore More

    Blog

    The 10 Biggest DeFi Hacks of 2022 and How Can KYC/AML Compliance Help

    The crypto industry witnessed a challenging year in 2022, marked by numerous hacks and scams, hig...

    The 10 Biggest DeFi Hacks of 2022 and How Can KYC/AML Compliance Help Explore More

    Blog

    5 Frauds in the Education Sector and How They Can be Prevented

    Educational institutions have become an attractive target for cybercrime attacks in recent years....

    5 Frauds in the Education Sector and How They Can be Prevented Explore More

    Blog

    KYC/AML Compliance for Startups in the Financial Sector – How Shufti Can Help

    As technology continues to transform the financial industry, the need for identity verification h...

    KYC/AML Compliance for Startups in the Financial Sector – How Shufti Can Help Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    Nordic Banks brace for Digital KYC with centralized Database

    Five major Nordic banks have formed a partnership to establish a company that will compile a cent...

    Nordic Banks brace for Digital KYC with centralized Database Explore More

    Blog

    May 2023 Recap: The Latest Global Regulatory Updates

    Technological advancements have paved the way for scammers to perpetrate various financial crimes...

    May 2023 Recap: The Latest Global Regulatory Updates Explore More

    Blog

    Identity Document Verification | Revolutionising Customer Onboarding

    Companies worldwide are undergoing a radical digital transition to keep up with today’s lig...

    Identity Document Verification | Revolutionising Customer Onboarding Explore More

    Blog

    Insights Into Austria’s Biometric KYC Onboarding [2022 Updates]

    Biometric authentication is considered a convenient approach for onboarding online customers that...

    Insights Into Austria’s Biometric KYC Onboarding [2022 Updates] Explore More

    Take the next steps to better security.

    Contact us

    Get in touch with our experts. We'll help you find the perfect solution for your compliance and security needs.

    Contact us

    Request demo

    Get free access to our platform and try our products today.

    Get started