Kathmandu, May 18 -- The Asia/Pacific Group, the regional arm of the international anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has warned Nepal that it risks being placed on the black list if it fails to demonstrate sufficient progress on financial crime reforms. In unusually direct language, the APG said Nepal's efforts to exit the grey list have been disappointing.

This is not routine diplomatic messaging. The APG has explicitly described the current visit to Kathmandu as the final high-level intervention before a decisive review by the AP-JG in September 2026, leaving Nepal less than four months to show meaningful results.

The seriousness of the situation is reflected in who the APG sent to Kathmandu. The ...