What Japan is asking for

Japan is pushing the Financial Action Task Force, the global financial crimes watchdog, to remove Myanmar from its blacklist, according to a senior Japanese government official and another person familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The aim, as reported, is to make it easier to do business with Myanmar.

Specifically, Japan wants the task force to drop the requirement that its members apply enhanced screening to financial transactions with Myanmar, screening intended to guard against money laundering and terrorist financing. Removing the country from the list would ease checks on business with a state whose military seized power in a 2021 coup and which remains under scrutiny over scam centres and illicit finance.

Why the timing matters

The 40-member body was due to conclude its third and last plenary meeting of the year in Paris on Friday 30 October. A spokesperson for the FATF Secretariat said meetings were ongoing, discussions were confidential, and any changes to the blacklist would be announced after their conclusion on Friday.

It was not immediately clear whether a change is imminent, according to the reporting. A second source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one other major Asian country was also pushing for Myanmar's removal. That uncertainty should be preserved in the published piece — removal has been sought, not secured.

The background to the listing

Myanmar was added to the blacklist, formally known as the High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action list, in October 2022 after missing a deadline to address deficiencies. The only other countries currently on the list are Iran and North Korea.

The push is described as the latest effort by some nations, including Japan, to re-engage with Myanmar after a period of isolation following the ousting of leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Japan's companies have maintained a large corporate presence in Myanmar even as other firms left after the coup, and the Japanese government official cited believes delisting would make business easier and help the economy recover. In a June assessment, the task force said Myanmar had shown some progress but urgently needed to address deficiencies, including ensuring money laundering was investigated and prosecuted. The coup leader-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, remains under US sanctions for human rights abuses, and the United States held direct talks with Myanmar's military-backed government in Naypyitaw last month, its highest-level contact since the coup.

Sources: Reuters