FATF launches targeted review of jurisdictions with material VASP activity

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 30 October 2026 launched a targeted review of how jurisdictions are implementing its standards on virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The review will focus primarily on jurisdictions with “materially important VASP activity” (MIVA), selected according to their current assessment status.

The FATF said implementation across its global network remains uneven and that criminal networks continue to exploit virtual assets’ cross-border nature and gaps in national controls. For compliance teams, the change means that a jurisdiction with a significant VASP market may face additional scrutiny even where its next full mutual evaluation is not imminent. In Atlas’s view, firms operating across several jurisdictions should expect the quality and speed of national implementation to become a more visible regulatory risk.

A second review track

The FATF’s mutual evaluation and follow-up processes remain the “primary mechanisms” for assessing implementation and identifying recommended actions. The targeted review is an additional process created because of the urgency of risks in the VA and VASP sector.

The FATF did not publish a list of MIVA jurisdictions or set out jurisdiction-specific findings on 30 October. Its selection will instead take account of both the scale of VASP activity and each jurisdiction’s existing assessment position. That makes the process different from a general sector update: it is intended to concentrate follow-up on jurisdictions where market significance and implementation weaknesses overlap.

The FATF said it will work directly with relevant jurisdictions through ongoing engagement, training and capacity-building. It also encouraged donors and technical-assistance providers to prioritise jurisdictions facing “significant R.15 implementation challenges”.

For VASPs, the practical exposure is indirect but material. A jurisdiction subject to more focused FATF follow-up may face closer scrutiny of its implementation and progress in addressing identified deficiencies. Those consequences are an analysis of the review’s likely effect, not measures announced by the FATF.

From implementation updates to accelerated reporting

The targeted review follows the FATF’s 16 July update on Recommendation 15, which reported progress in VA and VASP oversight but also “significant remaining” implementation gaps.

The October decision adds a more concentrated accountability mechanism to those broader publications. The FATF said the targeted review and subsequent follow-up monitoring and accelerated reporting process are intended to reinforce accountability, improve transparency and drive timely action on identified deficiencies.

That wording matters for regulated businesses. A jurisdiction may already have legislation or licensing requirements on paper while still attracting FATF attention because implementation is incomplete. Firms should therefore distinguish formal adoption of standards from evidence that the controls operate effectively.

The FATF has established a timetable for public scrutiny of jurisdictions. Initial results from the targeted review will be published in June 2027, with further results due in October 2027.