“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed PNG on its ‘grey list’ due to ‘strategic deficiencies’ in government oversight. The grey-list means that watchdog officials are monitoring closely, and that the government is time-bound to address their blind spots.”
“PNG is now one step away from the far more precarious ‘black list’, where other countries are compelled to stay away in order to protect the international financial system. There are only three countries on the black list: North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar.”
“A note from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2025 called PNG ‘a fragile state’ noting an ‘unstable social and political environment’.”
“See also: More banks give $15b PNG gas project the cold shoulder”
“Another 12 banks have pledged not to provide financing for a proposed $15 billion liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, in which Australia’s Santos is a major investor.”
“Fifteen banks and credit agencies, including Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB and Westpac, had already committed not to finance the TotalEnergies-led gas project, which would be PNG’s second-biggest.”