IAS Officer Vivek Aggarwal To Serve As FATF Vice President In Landmark Win For India

India was on Friday elected vice president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog responsible for setting standards to combat money laundering and terror financing.This marks the first time since joining the influential body in 2010 that India has secured the post. Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal was appointed vice president at the conclusion of the FATF plenary meeting held at the organisation's headquarters in Paris, according to an official statement.Aggarwal is a 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Madhya Pradesh cadre and has served in the past as the head of the Indian delegation to FATF."Members approved the Priorities of the FATF under the incoming UK Presidency, and appointed Mr. Vivek Aggarwal of India as the incoming Vice-President

of the FATF (July 2026-June 2027)," the FATF said in a statement.Delegates from more than 200 jurisdictions and observers gathered in Paris during June 17-19 to discuss threats to global financial integrity and security.A senior officer told PTI that Aggarwal will succeed UK national Giles Thomson, who has been holding the post since July 1, 2025.Aggarwal was serving as an additional secretary in the Union Finance Ministry when India's last mutual evaluation report was published in 2024.In the report, the FATF lauded India saying its assessment of the country's measures to tackle illicit finance concludes that it has implemented an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework that is achieving good results.