Namibia awaits grey-listing verdict with bated breath

Namibia has made significant efforts to address shortcomings identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) amid fears that it may be grey-listed. The country will know next month whether its efforts have been sufficient.Grey-listing means a country is under increased monitoring by the FATF due to certain deficiencies in combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism, among other things.Finance ministry executive director Titus Ndove told Namibian Sun that the concerns raised were addressed and Namibia is now awaiting a decision. “Namibia has officially submitted her position. The country has diligently addressed the concerns highlighted in the mutual evaluation report, and we are eagerly awaiting the outcome.”Namibia’s efforts to remain in good stead were further bolstered by efforts on the part of authorities to ensure technical compliance with recommendations. “We got our technical compliance in fine shape with laws promulgated last year. We need to demonstrate the effectiveness of our regime, which means more criminal investigations and more cases before court,” an official close to the matter said. Recommendations issuedNamibia found itself wanting following an evaluation by the FATF in 2022. The task force recommended that the country take steps to improve efforts to deal with aspects of money laundering and terrorist financing. Among the recommendations, the FATF highlighted that Namibia does not implement terrorist financing measures and does not use the United Nations Security Council’s freezing measures in its overall strategy to combat terrorist and proliferation financing. “In addition, a review of the non-profit organisations sector - to identify those organisations that are vulnerable to terrorist financing abuse - has not been done, hence [there is] no risk-based supervision and monitoring of nor sanctions in the sector,” the FATF said. “Namibia should take urgent steps to assess the scale and magnitude of money laundering and terrorist financing threats to better inform resource allocation to key anti-money-laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism agencies,” it said.Involve law enforcement FAFT further recommended that law enforcement agencies such as the Namibian Police and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should collaborate when pursuing cases involving financial crimes.“The police and the ACC should work closely with the Financial Intelligence Centre and the Office of the Prosecutor-General in the use of financial intelligence to proactively pursue complex money-laundering cases such as [the] Fishrot corruption [matter] by focusing on stand-alone and third-party laundering - including professional enablers and organised criminal networks - and ensure confiscation of criminal property,” the task force said. In September 2022, Namibia underwent its second peer review, a mutual evaluation by the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group and FATF, which found the country needed to strengthen its laws.

Namibia awaits grey-listing verdict with bated breath

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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Namibia awaits grey-listing verdict with bated breath

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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