Vietnamese delegation attends face-to-face meeting with the Joint Group/Financial Action Task Force on the 8th Progress Report in Malaysia

On 9-10 September 2026 in Malaysia, a Vietnamese working delegation attended a face-to-face meeting with the Joint Group/Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to exchange views and discuss the results of the 8th Progress Report on the implementation of the National Action Plan on anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and countering proliferation financing.

The meeting was co-chaired by co-chairs from Macao, China and New Zealand. On the Joint Group side, the meeting was attended by 15 assessors covering the various areas and a number of representatives of observer countries. The Vietnamese working delegation comprised representatives of ministries and sectors: National Defence, Public Security, Justice, Finance and the Supreme People's Procuracy, and was led by the Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department of the State Bank of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese delegation poses for a commemorative photograph

At the meeting, representatives of Vietnamese ministries and sectors answered the Joint Group's questions on 14 of the 17 actions in the National Action Plan issued together with Decision No. 1139/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister (03 Actions having already been assessed as largely completed and not requiring further reporting). At this meeting, the Joint Group acknowledged Vietnam's progress in perfecting its legal framework, in particular the promulgation of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering (amended) and the Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the ongoing consultation on amendments to the Criminal Code (expected to be adopted in October 2026). In addition, Vietnam has made some progress in stepping up the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offences, perfecting the legal framework on virtual assets, and demonstrating that the competent authorities have improved their understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

View of the meeting

At the meeting, the representative of the Ministry of National Defence discussed efforts to build a legal framework on targeted financial sanctions related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and demonstrated the strengthening of compliance inspection and supervision of financial institutions and of the relevant designated non-financial businesses and professions, as well as the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for combating and preventing the evasion of United Nations sanctions. With regard to preventing sanctions evasion, the Joint Group set more stringent requirements for Vietnam to identify actual risks, particularly in relation to high-risk countries. The Joint Group also highly appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of National Defence in developing and promulgating the Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Joint Group further requested Vietnam to continue studying and reviewing the matter in order to develop and issue guidance documents for the implementation of the Law, ensuring that their provisions fully meet the requirements of Recommendation 7 of the Financial Action Task Force. In addition, as the Law takes effect only on 1 July 2027, the Joint Group will also need time to verify its effectiveness in practice.

The results of the meeting further affirm the efforts and responsibility of ministries and sectors in general, and of the Ministry of National Defence in particular, in implementing the National Action Plan on anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and countering proliferation financing.

Nguyen Thanh Tung - Centre 81