The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering watchdog, said on Friday it had removed the Philippines from its 'grey' list of countries under increased scrutiny, while it added Laos and Nepal to that list.

The National Treasury has expressed satisfaction with the progress being made to remove South Africa from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

The Philippines is no longer on the list of countries under heavy scrutiny by the top global money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed the Philippines from its gray list after an on-site visit in January confirmed the country’s significant progress in strengthening measures on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed the Philippines from its 'grey' list, indicating reduced scrutiny for the country. Meanwhile, Laos and Nepal have been added to this list. The membership of Russia in the FATF continues to be suspended,

The Philippine government welcomed the country’s removal from a global watchdog’s dirty-money list, which could spur remittances and foreign investments in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies. The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) decision to take Manila off the list is expected to “facilitate faster and lower-cost cross-border transactions,