The Financial Action Task Force has taken four jurisdictions off its grey list – Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Monaco and Bulgaria – after they showed progress in anti‑money‑laundering and counter‑terrorism financing reforms.

Being on the grey list subjects a country to heightened monitoring and can damage its financial reputation, cross‑border transaction flow and attractiveness to investors.

Kenya’s Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said the nation has remedied 19 of the 21 deficiencies identified by the FATF and is targeting an exit from the list by April 2027.

Kiptoo highlighted that the remaining two gaps relate to prosecution and disruption of money‑laundering and terrorism financing, and that the government is intensifying efforts to close them.

The government links a successful grey‑list exit to its ambition to draw at least Sh649.4 billion in foreign direct investment by 2030 through the Nairobi International Financial Centre.

At its latest plenary, the FATF also announced new measures to tackle emerging threats such as cryptocurrency‑related crime and illicit financial flows, signalling tighter standards for all member states.