The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) says it is taking a proactive step towards Namibia exiting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist by submitting an early report.
The FIC highlighted the progress made in addressing deficiencies identified in the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) framework.
FIC Director Brian Eiseb said the country has been working diligently to address the identified shortcomings.
By submitting a progress report in July 2024, well ahead of the October FATF meeting, Namibia aims to demonstrate its commitment to strengthening its AML/CFT framework and expedite its removal from the greylist.
“Given the progress made since greylisting, Namibia has decided to voluntarily submit an earlier report to the FATF for its meeting in October 2024. Reporting earlier than required can expedite exiting the greylist if effective progress is noted,†he said.
He further explained that the report details the progress made on 72 recommended actions outlined in a mutual evaluation report.
While 59 actions have been addressed, 13 remain outstanding. The report also clarifies the potential economic consequences of prolonged greylisting, including reduced capital inflows and increased transaction times.
“During January 2024, Namibia reported to the FATF on progress made in addressing the said 72 recommended actions. The country was found to have effectively addressed 59 recommended actions while the remaining 13 required improvements,†Eiseb said.
He also said that although Namibia has a strong economy, greylisting could still have some short-term negative effects. However, he believes that Namibia’s robust economic fundamentals will likely offset these impacts.
“Notwithstanding, we do acknowledge that the period is certainly too short to thoroughly examine the full extent of the impact on some key indicators such as GDP as the transmission therein takes time. However, given the prevailing robust economic landscape, these effects may be offset,†he said.
On 23 February 2024, the FATF added Namibia to its list of jurisdictions under enhanced monitoring, commonly known as the greylist.
The greylist contains countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing frameworks.
