Monaco leaves the FATF grey list: what changes for businesses

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Monaco from its “grey list” on 30 October 2026, at the end of its plenary meeting in Paris. The Principality had been on it since June 2024. For businesses, the decision is a positive signal for the reputation of Monaco as a business centre, but it does not change everything: Monaco remains, for now, on the European list of high-risk third countries, which keeps enhanced due diligence obligations in place for obliged professionals in the European Union.

What the FATF decided

The FATF is the intergovernmental body that sets international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Its “grey list” brings together jurisdictions under increased monitoring, which have committed to addressing weaknesses in their framework according to an action plan and a timetable.

In its publication of 30 October 2026, the FATF lists Monaco among the jurisdictions no longer subject to this monitoring. It welcomes the Principality's significant progress, as it has completed the six commitments of the action plan set in June 2024:

The FATF encourages Monaco to continue this work with MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe committee of experts responsible for evaluating the anti-money laundering frameworks of its member states.

According to the Prince's Government press release of 30 October 2026, the decision is based on Monaco's progress reports and on the FATF on-site visit in September 2026. As early as June 2026, the FATF had made a preliminary finding that the action plan had been substantially completed. The Government notes in particular that the workforce of the Monaco Financial Security Authority (AMSF), which supervises professionals and acts as the financial intelligence unit, has quadrupled and will reach 80 people by the end of 2026.

What changes for businesses

A signal of confidence for Monaco

Leaving the grey list is first and foremost a matter of reputation. The President of the National Council, Thomas Brezzo, sees it as a way to “preserve our reputation, strengthen our attractiveness and our competitiveness”, and the Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, speaks of a governance choice “serving the credibility and stability” of the financial centre.

It is worth recalling a point that is often misunderstood: the FATF itself does not call on its members to apply enhanced due diligence to countries on its grey list. It recommends a risk-based approach and warns against de-risking entire categories of customers. Concrete obligations mainly stem from the lists that build on the FATF's own, first and foremost the European Union list. Independently of these lists, each professional also assesses the specific risks of its business relationships.

Monaco remains on the European Union list

The European Commission added Monaco to its list of high-risk third countries through Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1184 of 10 June 2025, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 16 July 2025 and in force since 5 August 2025. It explicitly relied on Monaco's listing by the FATF. Leaving the grey list does not automatically remove Monaco from this list: a new decision by the Commission is required. At the time of writing, 13 November 2026, the French customs page on high-risk country lists, updated on 9 November 2026, no longer shows Monaco on the FATF list but still includes it on the European list.

As long as this listing remains, the 2015 European anti-money laundering directive (Article 18a) requires “obliged entities” in the Union to apply enhanced due diligence measures to business relationships and transactions involving Monaco. This primarily concerns banks and financial institutions, but also, depending on their profession and the nature of the transactions, other professionals such as notaries, lawyers or estate agents. These measures include in particular:

• obtaining additional information on the customer and its beneficial owners
• obtaining information on the intended nature of the business relationship and on the reasons for the transactions
• obtaining information on the source of funds and wealth of the customer and its beneficial owners
• obtaining the approval of senior management to establish or continue the relationship
• conducting enhanced monitoring of the relationship, with more numerous and more frequent checks

In practice, a Monaco company opening an account with a French or European bank, or carrying out a transaction within the scope of these obligations with an obliged professional in the Union, can still expect more detailed requests for supporting documents. The extent of the checks depends on each professional and its risk assessment.

In Monaco, no relaxation of obligations

Leaving the grey list brings no relaxation of the obligations of Monaco professionals subject to anti-money laundering rules. On the contrary, the Government states that the steering framework remains in place and that reforms are continuing, which may still change these obligations. The tougher sanctions for breaches, in particular of the obligations on beneficial ownership transparency of companies, still apply.

What changes, what does not

Next steps

In a National Council press release of 4 November 2026, its President, Thomas Brezzo, states that “the next step will be Monaco's removal from the European Union list”. No timetable had been made public at the time of writing.

The Government announces three work streams: a continuous review of the legislative and regulatory framework, the creation of a national statistical database and a third national risk assessment. They are also intended to prepare Monaco's next evaluation by MONEYVAL, under its 6th round.

For your formalities, KaliDirectory lists banks in Monaco as well as legal, accounting and advisory professionals who support businesses with their compliance obligations. The banking sector is represented by the Monaco Association of Financial Activities. See also: how to check the reliability of a service provider in Monaco.