The Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) acknowledged on Wednesday, July 16, that Mozambique has shown commitment to exiting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, where it has been since 2022.
“Mozambique has shown its commitment to fighting financial crimes. We are very pleased to have reached this stage, where there is light at the end of the tunnel. The country has embraced the FATF’s requests not just as mandatory requirements, but as something beneficial to the economy and investment climate,” said ESAAMLG Executive Director, Fikili Zitha, as quoted by the Lusa news agency.
Speaking after a meeting in Maputo with Prime Minister Benvinda Levi and Finance Minister Carla Louveira, Zitha explained that her team is in the country to help prepare for the FATF’s upcoming onsite visit, scheduled to take place September 8–11, which will determine whether Mozambique can be removed from the grey list. “We are confident that Mozambique has done enough and has adequately prepared, considering all the resources invested in this process. It has been a demanding journey, both financially and in terms of time and manpower,” she stated.
Zitha emphasized that, upon exiting the grey list, Mozambique will be seen as a secure destination for investors, while also allowing Mozambican citizens to travel and use banking services freely and without restrictions. Her team will assess, ahead of the FATF meeting, the country’s mechanisms and measures for combating terrorism financing and money laundering.
For her part, Finance Minister Carla Louveira said that Mozambique will focus on the sustainability of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures to avoid returning to the grey list during the next evaluation cycle in 2030.
In June, Louveira revealed that, as part of the effort to leave the grey list, Mozambique had already completed the 26 actions recommended in the FATF action plan. “This led the organization to recognize the capability of our institutions in preventing and fighting money laundering and terrorism financing crimes.”
“The FATF Plenary approved the onsite visit for September 8–9, an essential step toward Mozambique’s removal from the grey list. Additionally, a face-to-face meeting will take place in Maputo from September 8–11, during which the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) will evaluate the countries still on the list,” she explained.
At the time, Louveira emphasized that hosting the ICRG meeting in Mozambique was a recognition that the country is implementing a sustainable system to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The ICRG is a FATF mechanism that identifies and monitors countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism frameworks and assesses their progress. It can recommend countries for inclusion on watch lists, such as the FATF grey list, if shortcomings are not addressed.
In addition to Mozambique, the grey list also includes Angola, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania. In May, Mozambican authorities announced that the country had already met all the criteria to be removed from the list.
Mozambique was added to the FATF grey list on October 22, 2022, for failing to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing efforts.
Source: DE
