The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the ability of governments and private sector actors to meet their anti-money laundering obligations, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) found on Friday.

“More than half of the governments surveyed by the FATF have seen an effect of the pandemic on their ability to detect, prevent and investigate” criminal money laundering, its president, Marcus Pleyer, admitted during a conference Virtual press conference.

However, “the courts need to be supplied with information to be able to seize and freeze laundered assets”, he warned at the end of a plenary meeting of this intergovernmental body.

While media, including AFP, showed that the Italian mafia was taking advantage of the health crisis to take control of companies in difficulty, particularly through the granting of loans, Mr. Pleyer indicated that the FATF “had received information from Europe” but refused To comment on the specific case of Italy.

In a report published in May, “Money laundering and terrorist financing related to COVID-19,” the FATF gave an initial overview of the “new threats and vulnerabilities” linked to the pandemic, such as the counterfeiting of medical goods, surveys funds in favor of fake charities or an increase in cybercrime linked to the development of teleworking.

Some FATF members had also warned about the risk of some economic aid intended for businesses and individuals being diverted, including through identity theft.

risk remains high, the FATF notes, according to which “the rise in unemployment”, but also “the rise of distance transactions” and “the accelerated implementation of recovery programs represent vulnerabilities that criminals can exploit in months to come.”

With regard to terrorist financing, the FATF noted that Pakistan “has made progress” and would therefore not be placed on its blacklist, which includes only Iran and North Korea.

Islamabad, which has fulfilled 21 of the 27 obligations of its program, is currently on the gray list, along with 15 other countries. Iceland and Mongolia were removed at this week's meeting.