Vietnamese Delegation Attends In-Person Meeting with the Joint Group/FATF on the Fourth National Progress Report in South Korea
From April 23 to 24, 2025, in South Korea, the Vietnamese delegation attended an in-person meeting with the Joint Group (JG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to discuss the Fourth Progress Report on the implementation of the National Action Plan, fulfilling the commitments of the Government of Vietnam on anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF) of weapons of mass destruction.
On the Joint Group side, participants included representatives from the FATF Secretariat, 16 assessors responsible for specific tasks under the National Action Plan, and observers from several countries. The Vietnamese delegation included representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Bank of Vietnam, led by the Director General of the Anti-Money Laundering Department of the State Bank of Vietnam.
Vietnamese Delegation Meets with the Joint Review Group
The meeting aimed to evaluate the results presented in the Fourth Progress Report (PR 4), covering the period from January 2025 to the present. During the meeting, the Joint Group discussed and requested clarifications on the progress made regarding each of the 17 actions under the National Action Plan, corresponding to 9 Immediate Outcomes (IOs) as guided by FATF.
At this session, the Joint Group acknowledged Vietnam’s progress in areas such as: demonstrating that competent authorities have improved their understanding of ML/TF risks; proving effective cooperation, coordination, and communication among relevant agencies on AML/CTF matters; developing a legal framework to regulate virtual assets and virtual asset service providers; and enhancing both formal cooperation (extradition and mutual legal assistance) and informal cooperation with international partners.
Meeting Overview
At the meeting, the Vietnamese delegation provided supporting evidence and data, and clarified specific results achieved by each ministry and agency during the reporting period. The Joint Group appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in implementing the National Action Plan but also emphasized the need to accelerate the progress. The National Action Plan is set to expire in May 2025. Moving forward, the Joint Group will require more stringent and frequent reporting. Countries placed under enhanced monitoring only have two years to implement their action plans, with no extension allowed.
Regarding the actions involving the Ministry of National Defense, progress has been made in demonstrating technical compliance with Recommendation 7 (targeted financial sanctions related to the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction). Competent authorities have also demonstrated oversight mechanisms and ensured that financial institutions (FIs) and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) comply with targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation financing. However, this process must be implemented synchronously, particularly with regard to data verification, which needs to be directly carried out and coordinated by the relevant ministries and agencies under the guidance of the Ministry of National Defense.
NGUYEN Thanh Tung – TT81
