Monaco exits FATF grey list for money laundering controls

The Groupe d'action financière, the global body that monitors anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards, announced on Friday 30 October that Monaco has been taken off its grey list. The Principality had been added to the list in June 2024 after inspectors identified shortcomings in how Monegasque authorities tracked suspicious financial flows and enforced compliance across the banking and wealth management sector.

Grey-list status meant banks and financial institutions dealing with Monaco faced additional scrutiny on transactions, a burden that filtered through to private banking relationships, company formations and property transactions involving overseas capital. Correspondent banks abroad had applied enhanced due diligence to Monegasque clients, slowing some transfers and raising compliance costs for firms based in the Principality.

The removal reflects eighteen months of reforms by Monaco's financial regulators and the Service d'Information et de Contrôle sur les Circuits Financiers, tightening oversight of the asset management, real estate and company registration sectors that underpin the local economy. For residents, property owners and businesses operating in Monaco, the decision should ease the friction that international banks had introduced into everyday transactions, while restoring a measure of confidence among institutions that had grown cautious about doing business with Monegasque counterparts.

Monaco's exit from the list arrives as the Principality continues to position itself as a hub for international wealth management, a status that depends heavily on maintaining credibility with global regulators. The Gafi review process typically includes a follow-up period, meaning authorities here will need to sustain the compliance measures introduced since 2024 to avoid being relisted.