Kenya was one of two African countries included in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) latest update to its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for money laundering and terrorist financing, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was among four countries removed.
The designations were announced by the FATF on Friday. The intergovernmental organization’s so-called “grey list” identifies jurisdictions actively working to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
Kenya and Namibia were added in the update, which saw the UAE, Uganda, Barbados, and Gibraltar each removed after making “significant progress” in improving their respective anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.
For Kenya, the FATF said it will work with the country to establish a case management system to better manage international cooperation requests, update its national AML/CFT strategies in line with the results of its risk assessments, and improve its supervision of certain financial institutions. In Namibia, goals include improving resource capabilities to carry out more on- and off-site inspections, upping sanctions for breaches of AML/CFT obligations, and increasing the filing of beneficial ownership information.
The UAE was added to the grey list in March 2022. Among steps the country has taken since then includes the approval of new federal prosecution entities specializing in economic crimes and money laundering. It is also providing more resources to its financial intelligence unit to improve its work with foreign counterparts, per the FATF.
Uganda, identified by the FATF in 2020, adopted a national AML/CFT strategy and enhanced its supervision of the financial sector among its improvements. Barbados, also designated in 2020, took measures to prevent legal arrangements from being misused and ensure accurate updated beneficial ownership information is available on a timely basis. Gibraltar (2022) is now applying effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanctions for AML/CFT breaches at non-bank financial institutions.
Jurisdictions that remain on the FATF’s list include Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Jamaica, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Vietnam, and Yemen.
No comments yet