# FATF R.19 — Higher-risk countries - **Part of:** [[FATF Recommendations]] Financial institutions must be required to apply enhanced due diligence, effective and proportionate to risk, to business relationships and transactions involving persons and financial institutions from countries the FATF identifies as higher-risk. Countries must also be able to apply proportionate countermeasures when called upon by the FATF to do so, and may apply countermeasures on their own initiative independent of any FATF call. Illustrative countermeasures range from added reporting obligations to restricting or terminating correspondent relationships. ## Keyed AMLR articles - [[AMLR Art. 29 - Third countries - strategic deficiencies|AMLR Art. 29]] — Third countries - strategic deficiencies - [[AMLR Art. 30 - Third countries - compliance weaknesses|AMLR Art. 30]] — Third countries - compliance weaknesses - [[AMLR Art. 31 - Third countries - specific threat|AMLR Art. 31]] — Third countries - specific threat - [[AMLR Art. 34 - Scope of enhanced due diligence|AMLR Art. 34]] — Scope of enhanced due diligence - [[AMLR Art. 35 - Countermeasures outside the Union|AMLR Art. 35]] — Countermeasures outside the Union ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- FATF Recommendation 19 — text of the Recommendation (FATF Recommendations, updated June 2026); interpretive note not reproduced > **19. Higher-risk countries** > Financial institutions should be required to apply enhanced due diligence measures to business relationships and transactions with natural and legal persons, and financial institutions, from countries for which this is called for by the FATF. The type of enhanced due diligence measures applied should be effective and proportionate to the risks. > Countries should be able to apply appropriate countermeasures when called upon to do so by the FATF. Countries should also be able to apply countermeasures independently of any call by the FATF to do so. Such countermeasures should be effective and proportionate to the risks.