JUDGES URGED TO WORK FOR REMOVAL OF MOZAMBIQUE FROM “GREY LIST”

JUDGES URGED TO WORK FOR REMOVAL OF MOZAMBIQUE FROM “GREY LIST”

Maputo, 28 Feb (AIM) – The President of Mozambique’s Supreme Court, Adelino Muchanga, has called on all judges to work for the removal of Mozambique from the “grey list” of the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and thus increase the confidence of investors.

He was addressed a meeting of magistrates in Maputo on Monday held to harmonise procedures in dealing with cases of money laundering and financing of terrorism.

The “grey list” consists of countries that are deemed to have deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering and terrorist financing. The upside to this is that these countries have all pledged to resolve swiftly the identified deficiencies within agreed timeframes. But they are also subject to increased monitoring.

Should Mozambique, or any other country on the grey list, object to such monitoring, they could be transferred to the “black list” of “high risk jurisdictions”. These are pariah states such as North Korea, Iran and Myanmar.

Muchanga told the Monday meeting that judges should contribute to improved investigation of money laundering and financing of terrorism, which would lead to removing Mozambique from the grey list.

Key to this was the seizure of assets from criminal gangs. “The freezing and loss of assets belonging to the authors of crimes should send a clear message that crime does not pay”, said Muchanga. “But for this, there must be serious investment in investigation capacity”.

For his part, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, guaranteed that the government is taking measures to remove the country from the grey list within the next 24 months.

“The government has taken action to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and money laundering”, said Tonela. “It has set up a multi-sector Executive Committee which is working as a task force to remove the country from the grey list, and provide the Council of Ministers with regular information on the progress made”.

In January this year, the World Bank, the United States and the European Union pledged their support for Mozambique’s efforts to leave the grey list – but to achieve this, Mozambique must comply scrupulously with the recommendations of the FATF.

The World Bank’s financial sector specialist, Julian Casal, warned that Mozambique needs to come off the “grey list” in other to promote access to international financial markets, continue to attract foreign investment, and participate in international trade.

He told the meeting that the authorities must promote a stable and transparent financial system and a greater commitment to international conventions on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The current situation could damage the country’s reputation as a reliable and trustworthy partner, causing long-term implications for economic growth and development, he added.

Casal urged magistrates to “enforce and interpret the country’s laws and regulations related to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. Investigating and prosecuting financial crime and imposing appropriate penalties on those found guilty are also key actions”.
(AIM)
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