Mexico completes FATF anti-money laundering review; results due on December 17

Mexico has finished its Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluation of the country’s anti-money laundering regime, and the results will be published on December 17, according to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP). For banks, PSPs, and other payment businesses operating in Mexico, the report will show both technical compliance and how effectively the country’s AML controls actually work.

1. The FATF work ended on October 30, the SHCP said in a statement. The upcoming report will include ratings on Mexico’s technical compliance and the effectiveness of its measures to prevent and combat money laundering.
2. The ministry did not disclose the scores or the recommendations made to Mexico. It said the review reflected “the efforts of the Mexican state to strengthen the fight against money laundering and protect the integrity of the financial system.”
3. The SHCP, through the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), coordinated the process and gathered information and technical evidence to demonstrate Mexico’s progress to the international body. The review involved public institutions, the financial and non-financial sectors, and the private sector.
4. Participants included Banco de México, the National Guard, the Ministry of National Defense, the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), and the Attorney General’s Office. The Federal Audit Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Intelligence Center also took part.
5. The review comes after a June 2025 action by the U.S. Treasury Department, which identified CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector Casa de Bolsa as institutions of “primary money laundering concern related to illicit opioid trafficking” and ordered restrictions on certain transfers, leading to their disconnection from the Mexican financial system.

For high-risk operators, the point is not the ceremony around the review; it is the rating. FATF outcomes tend to shape how counterparties, banks, and regulators view a market’s controls, and Mexico has already been under extra scrutiny after the U.S. Treasury actions against CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector Casa de Bolsa.