The European Union (EU) says it is ready to assist Namibia in strengthening its financial systems and exit the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.
This comes after Namibia was placed on the grey list in February 2024 due to shortcomings in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) standards.
EU Ambassador to Namibia Ana Beatriz Martin said the EU Delegation to Namibia and the EU-funded AML-CFT ESCAY Project joined forces to provide targeted support that tackles money laundering and terrorist financing on a broad scale.
The project strengthens national and regional capabilities in investigating financial crimes, prosecuting criminals, recovering stolen assets, and preventing these activities in the first place (AML/CFT).
“It focuses on a holistic approach of “follow and recover the money,” targeting the proceeds and illicit financial flows derived from transnational organised crime and terrorist financing,” she said during an AML/TF Training supported by the EU Delegation to Namibia.
She further explained that it is likely that Namibia will receive continued support through the Global Facility on AML/CFT with a mission to assess Namibia’s specific needs planned for later this year.
“We are very pleased by the new partnership with the Financial Intelligence Centre of Namibia. The ESCAY Project team will offer technical assistance in the capacity gaps and assist in complying with international standards in AML, CFT, and CPF. This marks the beginning, not the end, of our cooperation,” she said.
Also speaking at the launch of the workshop, Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Bryan Eiseb, said the training programme will equip Namibian officials with the necessary expertise to implement the FATF action plan and achieve compliance with international AML/CFT standards.
