Myanmar formally rejects highest-risk label in 2025 Basel AML Index assessment
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Htet Nadi (NP News) – Dec 14
The Central Bank of Myanmar issued a statement on December 11 expressing its objection to the country being ranked number one in the Basel AML Index 2025, a list of countries with high risk of loss, published by a Switzerland-based organization.
According to the Basel AML Index 2025, published in December 2025 by the Basel Institute on Governance, a Switzerland-based international non-profit organization, Myanmar has been ranked number one among 177 countries and regions in terms of highest risk of loss.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a global leading organization that implements initiatives to combat money laundering (AML), counter the financing of terrorism (CFT), and prevent the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (CPF). It is composed of ministers from 40 countries and organizations, including the Group of Seven (G7) nations.
The FATF conducts a Mutual Evaluation (ME) process among member countries, and evaluates them against the criteria set out in the FATF's 40 Recommendations.
Of the 40 recommendations in Myanmar's peer review report, 26 have been improved by 2025, a higher improvement than in other countries in the region.
The remaining Action Plans were not completed within the specified timeframe due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other related circumstances, and were moved to the list of countries and regions requiring Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and not countermeasures in October 2022.
However, unlike North Korea and Iran, Myanmar was not included in the Countermeasure (Black List), but was just added to the list to further implement the EDD.
The remaining measures were continuously implemented within the specified period, and the levels were increased. In the Statement after the FATF Plenary Meeting held in Paris, France in October 2025, Myanmar had only four of the eight recommendations remaining to be implemented, and it was kept on the Enhanced Due Diligence List.
The objection also states that the relevant ministries are working diligently and effectively to implement the four remaining items that Myanmar still needs to implement, with timelines set and special emphasis placed on them.