TRIPOLI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) lifted Libya from the list of countries unable to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, the Central Bank of Libya said in a statement on Wednesday.

"A major achievement was made on February 20, 2018 with a decision issued by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after Libya had been included in the list of states subject to follow-up with respect to ability to apply standards and obligations to combat money-laundering and terrorism financing crimes," the statement said.

The Bank stressed that this "achievement means FATF's approval to Libya complying with all the requirements and obligations to combat money laundering and terrorism financing crimes, in accordance with international standards, which positively reflects the reputation of the Libyan state and enhances the confidence of international financial and economic institutions in the Libyan financial and banking institutions."

FATF is an intergovernmental organization established in 1989 in France to develop policies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing internationally.