Angolan economist Eliseu Vunge believes that financial transparency is being relaxed and warns that Angola should comply with compliance in order not to return to the international grey list of countries that allow money laundering.
Eliseu Vunge, who was speaking to Lusa news agency about fears of Angola returning to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, from which it left in 2018, said it is necessary to “follow to the letter the issue of the exposure of politically exposed people in the financial system,” for example, as well as eliminate the lack of security, from the point of view of transactions.
“I think that the main focus continues to be the transparency of our financial system, that is where we sin, in the reports of the banks, in fulfilling the obligations to report to the National Bank of Angola (BNA), which is responsible for sending them to international entities,” the economist said.
According to the economist, the measures are more focused on the issue of transparency, but as the rules are adjusted, “new ways of distracting or evading the rules” also emerge.
“There are reports that they are not very good right now, regarding some banks, the ‘compliance’, when our financial system, in fact, is very much dominated by politically exposed people,” he pointed out.
In 2018, the economist continued, it felt like the rules were “a bit tighter”.
“What we are seeing is that we are having some regression from the point of view of compliance, it’s not the law, it’s compliance with the rules, since laws have already been approved even on money laundering, which would facilitate our normal business environment, in the more specific case the financial system,” he stressed.
For the economist, what is missing is “continuity of compliance with the rules,” noting that the country has legislation to facilitate the process.
“If we do not comply to the letter we may again suffer the heavy hand and get on that list,” he said, reiterating that “the problem is action. This rigour is lacking, not only in terms of control, but from the point of view of compliance by the banks themselves, the warnings from the BNA and international reporting rules.
Eliseu Vunge noted that the environment in Angola was “accompanied by situations from the past.
“Despite the effort to remove politically exposed people, many of them still exist and can always exert some influence, not directly, but indirectly,” the economist noted, noting that recently, with the governance of Angolan President João Lourenço, there has been that effort, “in which the autonomy of the BNA has tried to bring that transparency.
“But we cannot forget that even if there are laws, it is human action that prevails,” calling for greater responsibility from the fiscal body, in this case the Financial Information Unit, the BNA and other bodies.
According to the economist, if Angola returns to the grey list the consequences will be the same as in the past, namely difficulty in accessing international markets.
A report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), cited by newspaper Expansão, advised Angola to resolve as soon as possible the shortcomings found by the FATF as part of its inspection of the country, to prevent a return to the grey list.
The IMF in its report highlights the improvements made by Angola in recent years, but that much remains to be done.
The Angolan Secretary of State for Finance and the Treasury, Ottoniel dos Santos, referring to the issue at a forum on banking last year, was very confident, stating that there was no reason to envisage a step backwards in light of the progress made.
On Tuesday, a BNA official announced that Angola already has a plan to make up for deficiencies identified in the fight against money laundering and to remain off the grey list of FATF countries, which includes changes to the law and a review of banking regulations.
Castro e Silva said that technicians from the Angolan regulator were already in Arusha, Tanzania, for the meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) which will next week discuss Angola’s assessment report.
The intergovernmental body of the Southern and Eastern African group of countries aims to develop and promote policies to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
It is made up of 17 countries, Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.
“The FATF will make a decision on Angola according to the content of the report: whether it will stay as it is, without being part of any list, or whether it will have reinforced follow-up. If the FATF decides that reinforced follow-up is necessary the country has a year to resolve the shortcomings that have been identified,” the BNA director said.
However, he noted, decisions on whether or not to join the grey list of countries with less cooperative tax regimes in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism do not happen immediately, so a possible decision would only take effect in 2024.
“Mindful of this, the executive has approved a national strategy to combat money laundering from which action plans must now emanate from all entities assessed by the FATF and this includes entities in the financial system,” he said.
Lusa