In an unparalleled diplomatic and strategic coup for New Delhi, an Indian official, Vivek Aggarwal, has gotten elected as the Vice President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This is for the first time that an Indian official will be occupying an esteemed leadership position at this global watchdog based out of Paris, which formulates international standards for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
The election process has come to fruition during the end of the ongoing FATF Plenary meeting hosted by the organization at its Paris headquarters. Aggarwal will join the office in July 2026 till June 2027 as the Vice President of the FATF. He will be taking over from Giles Thomson of the United Kingdom, who will lead the FATF Presidency in the coming cycle under the UK leadership tenure.
A diplomatic triumph for India’s counter-terror policy
India has been a full member of the FATF since 2010. Reacting to this development, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said that this is a ‘major win’ for the country that shows its continued effort towards the cause of global financial security.
“As India continues to champion a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, this leadership role reinforces our relentless focus on combating global terrorist financing networks and dismantling illicit financial systems,” Jaiswal stated, adding that Aggarwal’s profound expertise would help advance the global watchdog’s core mandate.
Who is Vivek Aggarwal?
Aggarwal is an extremely experienced 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Currently serving as the Union Culture Secretary to the Government of India, he has an impeccable record in financial intelligence, taxation, and multilateral negotiations as an FATF apex body member.
He holds a B.Com. & LLB from Panjab University as well as intermediate degrees from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). He has undergone special training on Globalisation and International Financial Systems from the London School of Economics (LSE).
A formidable record in financial intelligence
Before taking up his current central post, he was the Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Finance. Significantly, during this tenure, he also headed the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) as its Director. He has been the head of the Indian delegation to FATF. He successfully led the multidisciplinary teams in handling the critical FATF Mutual Evaluation exercise of India.
Besides being adept at financial intelligence, he has successfully steered many significant public sector projects in his career:
Central administration (2019-2021): Worked as Joint Secretary, followed by Additional Secretary, in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, where he served as CEO of the enormous PM-KISAN transfer scheme.
State administration (2009-2018): Worked for almost a decade as Secretary to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. After that, he worked as the Principal Secretary of Urban Development where he was responsible for managing the MP Metro Rail Corporation and implementing the Smart Cities Mission and PM Awaas Yojana at the regional level.
Infrastructure and District administration (2001-2015): Served as the Managing Director and Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary of the MP Road Development Corporation. Additionally, he gained grassroots experience as District Magistrate and Collector at some very important places like Kapurthala (Punjab) and Rajgarh, Ujjain, and Indore (Madhya Pradesh).
