Moving forward, though, the FATF would not consider Cambodia a high-risk jurisdiction, albeit the country will most certainly have to maintain its unfaltering commitment towards cracking down on illegal gambling and eliminating any doubt that it may be allowing human trafficking to happen on its watch.
Cambodia Finally Makes It Off the FATF’s List
Both Cambodia and Morocco have been removed from the list, with the FATF citing the two countries’ sustained efforts in improving AML and CFT regulation and enforcing rules. In a statement published on Friday during a plenary meeting, the regulator said:
Each country has addressed its technical deficiencies to meet the commitments of its action plan on strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in February 2019 and 2021 respectively.
FATF
This does not mean that there are no issues to be tackled still. Cambodia has not quite cleared all the hurdles it faces, but it has been actively trying to, which is what FATF considers a qualifying factor to be taken off its list.
The country has been in hot water with international regulators since 2019 as it lacked a clear strategy to address AML/CFT issues it faced at the time. This prompted the US Department of State and the FATF to both criticize the country’s lack of action and recommend not doing business in Cambodia.
Much Effort and Time Expended to Achieve This Goal
In the meantime, Cambodia has made significant efforts to plug one of the biggest holes in its AML and CFT standards – the gambling industry. The country’s officials have cajoled licensed and upstanding operators, encouraging them to pay due taxes.
There is a fair degree of involvement from China, a neighbour who has been advocating for a tougher stance on illegal casinos in the country for a very long while. Recently, China said that it’s looking to work together with Cambodia on addressing trans-border crime, including gambling, drugs, and human trafficking among other illicit activities.
Yet, the true driver of change has come from within the government and police authorities which have pushed against the illegal gambling sector and cracked down on it heavily.