Maputo, 10 Feb (AIM) – The Mozambican anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), has warned that the country may not come off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “Grey List” at the end of March this year, as the government had expected.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog organization, placed Mozambique on its “Grey List” for an observation period of two years (2022-2025) for being vulnerable and presenting risks for money laundering and terrorist financing. Within this process, Mozambique had been required to report within an established plan.
However, according to the CIP report, the country may not be out of the “Grey List” because it was placed in 12th position by the Basel AML Index, an independent ranking that assesses the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. According to the ranking, Mozambique still presents “a high risk of money laundering.”
In this assessment, according to CIP, Mozambique came 12th, with 7.15 per cent (considered a high risk for money laundering), surpassed by countries such as Niger (18th), Mali (19th) and Burkina Faso (28th). In 2023, the country ranked 6th with 7.88 per cent, one of the worst in the world.
“A comparative analysis shows that, after the country rose from 2022 (7.68%) to 2023 (7.88%), in 2024 it fell to 7.15%, which can be explained by the increase in the number of jurisdictions assessed, as can be seen in the public edition of the three years in question”, reads CIP report.
The document points out that the country’s classification in 2024, even with the increase of 12 jurisdictions compared to the previous year, should still be a cause for concern regarding compliance with the recommendations that the country must follow in order to get off the FATF grey list.
“This is also related to the fact that the results of the ‘Stop money laundering’ operation, launched in 2024 by the Attorney General’s Office, are not yet known. The operation targeted a total of 40 Mozambicans and 15 foreigners, accused of money laundering offences; forgery of documents; tax fraud; criminal association; and use of false documents”, reads the note.
CIP believes that, given the magnitude and media coverage of this operation, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) should have shared information on a regular basis about the steps that were being taken in this case, not least to avoid certain types of speculation that surrounded its actions in this specific case.
Countries that fail to address money laundering and terrorist financing might be transferred to the black list. Countries on the black list will be subject to enhanced due diligence, and other countries could be called upon to take measures against them to protect the international financial system. Currently the only countries on the black list are North Korea, Iran and Myanmar.
(AIM)
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