The Executive Committee for the Coordination of Policies to Prevent and Combat Money Laundering and Combat Terrorism revealed on Friday (16) that the country has already complied with 18 recommendations to get off the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.
‘Mozambique received a total of 26 recommendations from the FATF, of which it has already complied with 18. As an organisation, we are satisfied with the results achieved and we guarantee that the rest will be approved soon at a meeting in Brussels,’ explained the institution’s coordinator, Luís Cezerilo.
In July, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said that the country was working ‘hard’ to eradicate money laundering and thus meet the standards recommended by the FATF, in order to get off the grey list as soon as possible.
According to the head of state, the government is promoting cooperation with nations and specialised international organisations to better deal with transnational organised crime networks, warning that the money laundering scheme has various ramifications that damage the economy.
‘Among the main actions implemented are the drafting and application of specific laws against money laundering, terrorist financing, the creation of the Executive Committee for the Coordination of Regulatory and Supervisory Bodies, the Financial Intelligence Unit and ongoing training to identify and combat these illicit activities,’ he described.
The statesman explained that illicit activity goes through three phases: placement, circulation and integration. ‘Once the illicitly received goods or values have been obtained in the financial and non-financial circuits, they are placed, through deposits, in financial institutions and investments in profitable businesses. The circulation of goods and income takes place through multiple and repeated operations, for example the transfer of funds and simulated sales,’ he clarified.
‘As far as integration is concerned, the goods and income received are introduced into legal economic circuits through their use, for example, in the acquisition of goods and services,’ he added.
He revealed that the FATF recognised Mozambique’s compliance with the recommendations. ‘Strict penalisation of money laundering and terrorist financing crimes in the courts is essential to discourage this practice.’
In a publication, Further Africa reported that the government has determined that companies operating in the real estate and automobile sectors will now draw up a ‘Suspicious Transactions Report’, with a view to eliminating acts of money laundering and terrorist financing.
‘Entities involved in real estate brokerage, the sale and resale of real estate, construction companies engaged in the direct sale of real estate and companies engaged in the sale and resale of new and used vehicles are obliged to designate a person responsible for reporting suspicious transactions.
This mandate is in line with the law that establishes the Legal Regime and Preventive Measures against Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction,’ he explained, according to a directive issued by Mozambique’s Financial Intelligence Office (GIFIM).
