The European Commission has cited six African countries for having deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks.
These African countries are Botswana, Libya, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Libya and Ghana. They are among some 23 countries that formed part of a new list adopted by the European Union.
This is contained in a statement from the European Commission on Wednesday and cited by Africafeeds.com.
The list helps to protect the EU financial system by better preventing money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
Banks in these countries will now be required to do due diligence on financial operations involving customers and financial institutions.
Commissioner for Justice Consumers and Gender Equality of the European Commission, Věra Jourová noted that dirty money is the lifeblood of organized crime and terrorism.
Madam Jourova wants the 23 countries listed to remedy their deficiencies swiftly.
She said “We have established the strongest anti-money laundering standards in the world, but we have to make sure that dirty money from other countries does not find its way to our financial system.”
Jourova added that “the Commission stands ready to work closely with them to address these issues in our mutual interest.”
Mandate of European Commission
The Commission is mandated to carry out an autonomous assessment and identify the high-risk third countries.
The current list has been established on the basis of an analysis of 54 priority jurisdiction.
It was prepared by the Commission in consultation with the Member States.
The countries were assessed based on systemic impact on the integrity of the EU financial system.
They were also assessed after going through a review by the International Monetary Fund as international offshore financial centres and economic relevance and strong economic ties with the EU.
Source: Africafeeds.com
