India’s senior bureaucrat Vivek Aggarwal has been selected as the next Vice-President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the 2026-27 term. He will succeed Giles Thomson of the United Kingdom. Mr Aggarwal, currently serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, earlier headed the Indian delegation to the FATF and played a key role in India’s engagement with the global anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing watchdog. The decision was taken during the FATF Plenary held from 17th to 19th June.
The Ministry of External Affairs has termed Mr Aggarwal’s selection a major win for India. In a social media post, the Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said the appointment reinforces India’s relentless focus on combating global terrorist financing networks and dismantling illicit financial systems. He added that Mr Aggarwal’s experience as former Head of India’s FATF delegation and former Director of FIU-IND will help advance the FATF’s mandate of safeguarding financial integrity.
During the Plenary, members reviewed global efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq were placed under increased monitoring, while Algeria and Namibia were removed from the FATF grey list after completing their action plans.
The Plenary also appointed Giles Thomson as the next FATF President. He will succeed Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico. The Financial Action Task Force is the global standard-setting body for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. India has been a member of the FATF since 2010.
