Namibia exits FATF greylist

Namibia has been removed from a global financial crime watchlist that has shadowed the country's banking and investment environment for more than two years.

The Financial Action Task Force announced at its Plenary on 19 June 2026 that Namibia is no longer on its list of jurisdictions under enhanced monitoring, a designation that had raised compliance costs for local banks, complicated cross-border transactions and dented investor confidence since February 2024.

Namibia was grey-listed after the FATF identified 13 weaknesses in the country's systems for fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The listing came with an Action Plan and a deadline of May 2026 to fix them.

Namibia cleared every one of the 13 items ahead of that deadline.

Finance minister Ericah Shafudah said the National Focal Committee, led by the Financial Intelligence Centre, filed five progress reports with the FATF between July 2024 and November 2025, one voluntary and four compulsory, before the FATF recommended Namibia for an on-site assessment.

That assessment, conducted in Windhoek on 23 and 24 April 2026, cleared the way for today's announcement.

Shafudah credited Cabinet for its support throughout the process and singled out the National Focal Committee for steering Namibia through what she described as a demanding two-year effort.

A formal press briefing, at which media will be invited, is scheduled for Tuesday, 23 June 2026, between 08h00 and 09h00.

The exit from the grey list is expected to ease pressure on Namibian banks' relationships with foreign correspondent banks, lower compliance costs across the financial sector and strengthen the country's standing with international investors.