Côte d’Ivoire could exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as early as October 2026, according to indications given by Edwin Harris Junior, Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Abidjan, on the sidelines of the opening of the 45th Plenary Meeting of the GIABA Technical Commission.

“We hope that following the June plenary session in Paris, a mission will be sent to Côte d’Ivoire to assess the progress made. After this mission, it is highly likely that the October 2026 plenary will approve Côte d’Ivoire’s removal from the FATF grey list,” stated the GIABA Director General.

This optimism is shared by the Ivorian authorities. “Considering the progress achieved by Côte d’Ivoire in addressing the deficiencies identified by the FATF, we are confident that we will soon exit the FATF grey list,” said Moussa Sanogo, Minister of Urban Planning, Housing and Living Environment, representing Adama Coulibaly, Minister of Economy, Finance and Budget.

The numerous institutional and regulatory reforms carried out across various ministries and public institutions, particularly since the adoption of the Mutual Evaluation Report of the national Anti–Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) system in May 2023, demonstrate the clear commitment of the Ivorian authorities to effectively address financial crime.

The implementation of these reforms has enabled Côte d’Ivoire to meet both the technical compliance requirements of FATF standards and the effectiveness of their implementation.

Regarding technical compliance, Côte d’Ivoire submitted its third follow-up report to GIABA for this plenary session, which was adopted through written procedure, bringing to 39 out of 40 the number of FATF recommendations for which the national AML/CFT system is rated as compliant or largely compliant.