Namibia on track for FATF delisting, says FIC
Namibia's bid to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist hinges on the outcome of a face-to-face meeting held in Mozambique on 12 September, following the submission of the country’s third compulsory progress report.
“Namibia just finished the third round of compulsory reporting, which was followed by a face-to-face meeting in Mozambique on 12 September. The outcome of the progress report will determine whether the country has adequately addressed the five remaining action items and is eligible for an on-site visit,” said Bryan Eiseb, Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), in response to an enquiry from Market Watch.
According to Eiseb, Namibia is making steady progress regarding its greylisting, having remedied all identified action items.
“So far, Namibia has remediated all its action items ahead of schedule. All the relevant offices, ministries, and agencies that form part of the National Coordination Committee remain fully committed to seeing Namibia exit the FATF greylisting as soon as possible,” he said.
The country’s goal is to ensure that these efforts strengthen the national Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Combating the Financing of Proliferation (AML/CTF/CPF) framework and its effectiveness in a sustainable manner.
“As part of its strategic interventions to ensure an expedited and sustained delisting from the FATF grey list, the National Coordination Committee has been engaging various public and private stakeholders, as well as regional and international AML/CTF/CPF technical service providers,” Eiseb added.
Top priority
Namibia’s delisting remains a priority for the FIC, Eiseb explained. “We want to assure the Namibian public that the delisting of Namibia from the FATF list of countries under enhanced monitoring remains a top priority of the government,” he said.
Namibia was greylisted in February 2024 and received an Action Plan requiring remediation of 13 strategic deficiencies to measure the effectiveness of the national AML/CTF/CPF framework. The final deadline for completing the Action Plan is May 2026.
Meanwhile, South Africa and Nigeria are poised to exit the global financial watchdog’s grey list as soon as next month, marking a change in fortune for two of the continent’s biggest economies, Bloomberg reported.
The two nations were placed under heightened scrutiny by the FATF in February 2023 for shortcomings in tackling illicit financial flows. Assessors from the Paris-based FATF conducted on-site visits in recent weeks, and subsequent feedback on the action plans for those countries, as well as for Burkina Faso and Mozambique, noted significant progress, according to sources familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified, as deliberations are private.
“Namibia just finished the third round of compulsory reporting, which was followed by a face-to-face meeting in Mozambique on 12 September. The outcome of the progress report will determine whether the country has adequately addressed the five remaining action items and is eligible for an on-site visit,” said Bryan Eiseb, Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), in response to an enquiry from Market Watch.
According to Eiseb, Namibia is making steady progress regarding its greylisting, having remedied all identified action items.
“So far, Namibia has remediated all its action items ahead of schedule. All the relevant offices, ministries, and agencies that form part of the National Coordination Committee remain fully committed to seeing Namibia exit the FATF greylisting as soon as possible,” he said.
The country’s goal is to ensure that these efforts strengthen the national Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Combating the Financing of Proliferation (AML/CTF/CPF) framework and its effectiveness in a sustainable manner.
“As part of its strategic interventions to ensure an expedited and sustained delisting from the FATF grey list, the National Coordination Committee has been engaging various public and private stakeholders, as well as regional and international AML/CTF/CPF technical service providers,” Eiseb added.
Top priority
Namibia’s delisting remains a priority for the FIC, Eiseb explained. “We want to assure the Namibian public that the delisting of Namibia from the FATF list of countries under enhanced monitoring remains a top priority of the government,” he said.
Namibia was greylisted in February 2024 and received an Action Plan requiring remediation of 13 strategic deficiencies to measure the effectiveness of the national AML/CTF/CPF framework. The final deadline for completing the Action Plan is May 2026.
Meanwhile, South Africa and Nigeria are poised to exit the global financial watchdog’s grey list as soon as next month, marking a change in fortune for two of the continent’s biggest economies, Bloomberg reported.
The two nations were placed under heightened scrutiny by the FATF in February 2023 for shortcomings in tackling illicit financial flows. Assessors from the Paris-based FATF conducted on-site visits in recent weeks, and subsequent feedback on the action plans for those countries, as well as for Burkina Faso and Mozambique, noted significant progress, according to sources familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified, as deliberations are private.
