site.btaBulgaria Expected to Exit FATF Grey List by End of October, Bloomberg Reports

Bulgaria is expected to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "grey list," alongside Monaco and Côte d’Ivoire, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

A final decision is expected on October 30, the last day of the organization's upcoming plenary session in Paris. No decision has been reached yet; changes to the list require consensus among FATF members, which include the US, the UK, the European Commission, China, Japan, and India.

Bulgaria was placed on the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in October 2023, amidst negotiations for the country's accession to the eurozone. In October 2024, the FATF kept the country on the "grey list." Bloomberg notes that while Bulgaria has faced criticism regarding corruption for years, the organization has recently acknowledged significant progress.

When presenting the results of its June plenary session, the FATF made a preliminary assessment that Bulgaria had largely fulfilled its action plan. The organization approved an on-site visit to verify whether the reforms are genuinely being implemented, whether they are yielding sustainable results, and whether the necessary political will to continue them remains.

In early September, Prime Minister Rumen Radev met with FATF representatives to discuss the country's progress. In August, he stated that the government's political will and actions against money laundering, the shadow economy, and corruption served as an additional guarantee for Bulgaria's removal from the list.