INFORMATION ON UPDATES MADE TO THE FATF METHODOLOGY

The following amendments have been made to the FATF Methodology since the text was adopted in February 2013.

Date / FATF Plenary	Type of amendments	Sections subject to amendments
October 2015	Addition of footnote to clarify the interpretation of criterion 29.3.	R.29 To add a footnote to guide the application of the methodology for criterion 29.3 on the FIU’s power to obtain additional information.
February 2016	Revision of R. 5 and IO.9.	R.5 and IO.9 To align the methodology for R.5 and IO.9 with the revised Interpretive Note to Recommendation 5 relating to UNSCR 2178.
February 2016	Addition of footnote on the terminology of different types of ML activity to IO.7.	IO.7 To add a footnote clarifying the terminology of different types of ML activity as referred to in the Methodology for IO.7 (core issue 7.3).
October 2016	Revision of R.8 and IO. 10	R.8 and IO.10 and Glossary To align the methodology for R.8 and IO.10 with the revised Recommendation 8 and interpretive Note to Recommendation 8.
October 2016	Addition of footnote on tax and confiscation to IO.8	IO.8 To add a footnote about how tax confiscation figures should be taken into account for the assessment of effectiveness under IO.8 (core issue 8.2)
February 2017	Revision of R.5 and IO.9	R.5 and IO.9 To align the methodology for R.5 and IO.9 with the revised Interpretive Note to Recommendation 5 and the Glossary term "funds or other assets".
November 2017	Revision to Recommendation 7	R.7 To amend R.7 to mirror amendments to the FATF Standards (INR.7 and the Glossary) made in June 2017 which reflected changes to the UN Security Council Resolutions on proliferation financing since the FATF standards were issued in February 2012.
November 2017	Revision of footnote to Recommendation 25	R.25 To amend footnote 55 to the methodology for R.25 to provide guidance on how to identify other legal arrangements that fall within the scope of R.25 and IO.5 because of characteristics and features which are similar to express trusts and could be particularly vulnerable from a ML/TF perspective, and to ensure a consistent approach across mutual evaluations.
February 2018	Revision of Recommendations 18 and 21	R.18 and R 21 To amend R.18 and R.21 to reflect the November 2017 amendments to the FATF Standards (INR.18 and R.21) which clarified the requirements on sharing of information related to unusual or suspicious transactions within financial groups, and the interaction of these requirements with tipping-off provisions.
October 2018	Revision of Recommendation 2 and Immediate Outcome 1	R.2 and IO.1 To reflect the February 2018 amendments to the FATF Standards (R.2) which clarify the need for compatibility of AML/CFT requirements and data protection and privacy rules and build on the conclusions of RTMG’s report on inter-agency CT/CFT information sharing.
February 2019	Revisions to Immediate Outcomes 3 and 4 Addition of notes to assessors and footnotes	Addition of notes to assessors and footnotes to provide further guidance on how to assess the relative importance of the different sectors of financial institutions and DNFBPs.
October 2019	Revisions to Recommendation 15 and Immediate Outcomes 1 - 4, and 6 – 11 to reflect amendments to the FATF Standards (R.15, INR.15 and Glossary terms) incorporating virtual assets and virtual asset service providers	Introduction paragraph 15 New paragraph and footnote to provide guidance on how to assess requirements relating to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. Introduction paragraphs 21, 22, 24 and diagram at paragraph 44. Addition of references to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. Recommendation 15, Note to assessors and criteria 15.3 – 15.11 Immediate Outcomes 3 and 4. Addition of further guidance on how to assess requirements relating to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers and new criteria to reflect the amendments to the FATF Standards (R.15, INR.15 and Glossary terms “virtual assets” and “virtual asset service provider”). Immediate Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Addition of reference to R.15, or elements of R.15, as being related to the outcome and reference to VASPs as needed.
November 2020	Clarification to Recommendation 17	Addition of footnote to clarify that R.17 does not apply to third party outsourcing and agency relationships, as noted in INR.17.
October 2021	Revision of the Glossary definition of ‘designated categories of offences’	Revision of the Glossary definition of ‘designated categories of offences’ to clarify the types of offences which fall within the ‘environmental crime’ category.