FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

In June of 2000 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) included Israel, Lebanon, and St. Kitts & Nevis on its list of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT list). (A complete list of NCCT countries can be found at www.fatf-gafi.org) The U.S. responded to FATF’s action by issuing FinCEN Advisories in July 2000 recommending that U.S. financial institutions give enhanced scrutiny to transactions involving these jurisdictions. Since that time these jurisdictions have made impressive progress in enacting comprehensive anti-money laundering legislation and have taken significant steps to implement their new anti-money laundering regimes. In response to this progress, FATF removed these three countries from the NCCT list last month. Today, FinCEN notified U.S. financial institutions that, based on the improvements in their anti-money laundering regimes and on the FATF action, the U.S. is withdrawing the FinCEN Advisories on Israel, Lebanon, and St. Kitts & Nevis.