WINDHOEK: The European Union (EU) Global Facility has embarked on a workshop with Namibian stakeholders on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism aimed at assisting Namibia to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s Grey List.
Namibia in February 2024 was grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Plenary and placed under increased monitoring due to concerns over remaining effective in implementation compliance with international Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) standards.
Speaking at the event here on Monday, EU Ambassador to Namibia Ana Beatriz Martins said the workshop was being held in response to a request by the Namibia Financial Intelligence Centre earlier this year, in collaboration with the European Union Delegation to strengthen Namibia’s capacity in financial systems, transparency and accountability.
‘This partnership is a statement of Namibia’s commitment to international govern
ance,’ she said.
She indicated that the week-long workshop will identify joint specific needs of entities and structural deficiencies as pointed out by the FATF, in efforts to develop custom-made work plans.
Martins explained that the EU has supported 34 countries across the globe in their fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, noting that the workshop is dedicated to strengthening Namibia’s national experts and engaged in fruitful debates with EU experts.
She further indicated that the EU and Namibia have strong and wide-ranging relations including in trade, social policy and green hydrogen, amongst others.
The workshop is being attended by key Namibian government agencies including the Ministry of Justice, Bank of Namibia, Master of the High Court, Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority, Namibia Revenue Agency, Anti-Corruption Commission of Namibia, Namibian Police Force, the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Office of the Prosecutor General.
Source : The Namibia Ne
ws Agency