International organisation to evaluate risk of terrorist financing in Mozambique

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International organisation to evaluate risk of terrorist financing in Mozambique

4:08 CAT | 09 Apr 2019

File photo: Lusa

The International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is to assess the risk of Mozambique becoming involved in terrorist financing and money laundering in 2020, the Mozambican Central Bank announced on Friday in Maputo.

“A risk assessment is planned for the country in 2020,” said Emília Mabunda, head of the bank’s Supervision Department told journalists on the sidelines of a training course on money laundering.

Emiliamabundabancomoc.fm_-1 — *Emília Mabunda, head of the central bank’s Supervision Department. Photo: Folha de Maputo*

Emilia Mabunda said that the scrutiny would be important in helping assess the danger of Mozambique being used for financing terrorism and money laundering.

“The risk assessment serves for FATF-linked institutions to better understand the risks of the country engaging in terrorist financing and money laundering,” Mabunda explained.

The evaluation is based on the country’s adherence to the Eastern and South African Anti Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) an institution dedicated to standardising international standards for combating international financial crime.

The Financial Action Task Force is an intergovernmental body set up to develop and promote national and international anti-money laundering and terrorist financing policies.

Currently, 35 countries and territories across all continents are FATF members.

More about ESAAMLG

The purpose of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) is to combat money laundering by implementing the FATF Recommendations. This effort includes co-ordinating with other international organisations concerned with combating money laundering, studying emerging regional typologies, developing institutional and human resource capacities to deal with these issues, and co-ordinating technical assistance where necessary. ESAAMLG enables regional factors to be taken into account in the implementation of anti-money laundering measures.

ESAAMLG was launched at a meeting of Ministers and high-level representatives in Arusha, Tanzania, on 26-27 August 1999. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) based on the experience of the FATF and other FATF-style regional bodies was agreed to at that meeting. Following the signature of the MoU by seven of the potential members, ESAAMLG came into formal existence. All members are Commonwealth countries which have committed to the FATF Forty Recommendations. The group held its first meeting on 17-19 April 2000 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Following the events of 11 September 2001, ESAAMLG expanded its scope to include the countering of terrorist financing.

ESAAMLG members participate in a self-assessment process to assess their progress in implementing the FATF Forty Recommendations. The ESAAMLG Secretariat is located in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

ESAAMLG became an Associate Member of the FATF in June 2010.

More about FATF

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.

The FATF has developed a series of Recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. They form the basis for a co-ordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field. First issued in 1990, the FATF Recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and most recently in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be of universal application.

The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the international financial system from misuse.

The FATF’s decision making body, the FATF Plenary, meets three times per year.

Source: Source: Lusa / fatf-gafi.org