Africa-Press – Angola. Angola is “absolutely” committed and determined to prevent, detect and repress money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, said this Monday, in Lubango, Huíla, the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José Massano.
Speaking at the opening of the 47th Meeting of the Task Force of the Anti-Money Laundering Group for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAAMLG), he made it known that the country will continue to make efforts to update and ensure legislation aligned with international standards, to ensure effectiveness in its implementation.
The countries, added the official, are interconnected and independent of each other, but they have global financial and trade systems, which is why this interconnection has challenged Governments to ensure the fight against practices that are harmful to the development of nations.
For the minister, only with concerted actions is it possible to effectively combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which is why the role and coordinating mission of ESAAMLG is increasingly relevant..
He explained that the majority of African States are in a phase of building their economies and intend to establish the foundations for greater institutional resilience and reduction of social imbalances, while trying to limit exposure to geopolitical tensions of proportions that are not always predictable..
“It is essential that all countries cooperate in the fight against these crimes and also guarantee the application of international standards internally, in order to prevent criminal actions from exploiting vulnerabilities that may exist in the national legislative and regulatory framework and its implementation. ”, he warned.
On the other hand, he warned that in Africa, different regions show different trends, but overall the scenario is still worrying, as in the list of jurisdictions under reinforced monitoring, published by the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF), on 23 February This year, 12 of the 21 countries listed are on the continent, hence the need to attract the attention of the Lubango meeting.
He also recalled that there is, sometimes, a tendency to consider acts of money laundering and terrorist financing as an isolated issue, without any impact on the real lives of the population, but that is not the truth, because the consequences are real, extensive and multifaceted, with an impact on economic development, stability and democratic values.
“An environment with inadequate controls will be more easily used for illicit activities, such as drug and human trafficking, as well as other illicit activities and trade, the diversion of public funds, with consequences of conditioning and driving away foreign trade , public and private investment, which harms economic growth and social well-being”, he continued.
To reverse the situation, he said it is necessary to collectively and significantly increase efforts to make systems more robust and effective in preventing, detecting and repressing this type of crime.
He also called on ESAAMLG to promote information, knowledge and experiences of the Financial Action Group and other regional bodies associated with it, which are at the forefront of this fight, to assess risks and criminal trends, to alert their members.
More than 800 delegates from ESAAMLG member countries and representatives from Cooperating and Supporting Nations and Organizations are gathered to deliberate on issues related to efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the region.
The ESAAMLG, created in 1999, is a regional body made up of 21 member countries dedicated to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in East and Southern Africa, based on FATF recommendations and other international instruments defined to combat financial crimes.
The Regional Group works collaboratively and these meetings are bi-annual in nature, with the group facilitating debates between delegates from Member States and observers on a range of issues related to preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The event will be marked by discussions and exchange of information on best practices, in which the mutual evaluation report of the second round in the Republic of Rwanda will be approved, as well as analyzing that country’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing , identifying strengths and areas for improvement.
The meeting will consider Angola’s first progress report, being a monitoring process that serves as an essential instrument to monitor the implementation of the recommendations presented in its mutual evaluation report.
Delegates will provide guidance and support to strengthen Angola’s national system for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The ESAAMLG meeting in Lubango, which runs until next Friday, highlights Angola’s commitment to regional cooperation and collective action in combating financial crimes.
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