Mozambique off FATF grey list, a major gain for economy – business confederation

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Mozambique off FATF grey list, a major gain for economy – business confederation

3:50 CAT | 25 Oct 2025

File photo: Notícias

The Mozambique Business Confederation on Friday stated that the country’s removal from the international “grey list” of money laundering represents a “substantial gain” for Mozambique’s economy, as well as improving investor confidence.

“Mozambique’s removal from the grey list represents a substantial gain for the domestic economy, with direct effects on improving investor confidence, reducing the country’s risk and increasing its attractiveness as an investment destination,” said Onório Manuel, vice-president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), the largest Mozambican business association.

The plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) today announced in Paris that Mozambique has been removed from the international “grey list” of money laundering, three years after its inclusion, an official Mozambican source told Lusa.

“It’s confirmed. At 9:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. in Lisbon) day, the FATF plenary, by unanimous vote of all organisations and countries, removed Mozambique from the grey list,” Luís Abel Cezerilo, national leader for Mozambique’s removal from that list, told Lusa.

He added that the decision to remove the country from the list was approved with the recommendation that it “work” on “improving risk mapping”.

According to the CTA business confederation, the decision by the Financial Action Task Force is the result of structural reforms implemented by the Mozambique government, in collaboration with the private sector, and also represents a historic milestone for Mozambique’s “financial and reputational credibility”.

“This achievement reflects international recognition of the remarkable progress that Mozambique has made in strengthening mechanisms to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, following an intense process of reforms implemented between 2022 and 2025,” said Onório Manuel.

Mozambican businesspeople also hope that Mozambique’s removal from the grey list will strengthen the country’s international credibility and image, facilitate international financial transactions, reduce external financing costs, stimulate international cooperation and make the country more attractive to private investment.

“The CTA recognises that, although this is a collective victory, the FATF has recommended that the country maintain the pace of reforms, strengthening risk mapping and institutional coordination,” said the vice-president, Onório Manuel.

The confederation reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with the Government of Mozambique and international partners to ensure that the country consolidates its position and transforms the FATF decision into “tangible results” for entrepreneurs and the domestic economy.

“For the private sector, this achievement should be used strategically in national branding initiatives, promoting economic partnerships and attracting investment, strengthening confidence in the Mozambican economy and positioning the country as a safe and competitive destination for business,” concluded the CTA vice-president.

📢 The October 2025 FATF Plenary concluded today

📌 4 countries removed from the grey list
📌 Adoption of Belgium and Malaysia mutual evaluation reports
📌 New guidance on asset recovery approved

Learn more on the key outcomes 👇https://t.co/5bsEBigdTn #FATF #FollowTheMoney pic.twitter.com/P9KWPmuymt

— FATF (@FATFNews) October 24, 2025

Mozambique had been included on the FATF’s international “grey list” of money laundering countries since 2022, but the government announced in the middle of this year that it had already complied with all the recommendations for its removal and that the objective was to ensure, after removal, that this status would be maintained in future assessments.

“As part of the efforts to remove the nation from the grey list, the Mozambican government has already complied with the 26 measures of the FATF plan, which led this institution to recognise the capacity of our institutions to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing crimes,” said minister of finance Carla Loveira on 16 June, who is in Paris today to attend the FATF plenary.

Mozambique received a visit from FATF members in September, a step described at the time as essential to the process of removing the nation from the “grey list”.

Source: Lusa