Ottoniel dos Santos spoke at the opening of the XII Banking Forum, an initiative of the newspaper Expansão, which addressed the theme "The Impact of the Assessment of the FATF in the Banking Sector - Transformations in Structure and Future Challenges".
According to the Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury, who expressed confidence in a positive result, this assessment can also serve to consolidate and accelerate the reforms undertaken by the Government to improve the business environment.
The official stressed that the assessment of the FATF, whose extensive fieldwork took place throughout the month of June and lasted until July, focuses on the entire Angolan system for the prevention of money laundering, financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of destruction. in large scale.
"What the Gafi team looked for was evidence capable of showing that the legal and regulatory measures approved are in fact working and producing the desired results", said Ottoniel dos Santos.
According to the official, this is the critical aspect of the report that will be taken to the plenary meeting of that group, which should take place until the end of the first half of next year.
Ottoniel dos Santos stated that there is no reason to fear the outcome of this assessment, "because since the last assessment in 2019, effective efforts have been made to comply with the regulations issued by that institution".
"Finally, through the modernization of the Law for the Prevention of Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Law 5/20, of January 27, and its transposition into the Notices and regulations of the Banco Nacional de Angola, namely by Notice 14/20. Both this law and this notice comply with FATF recommendation 12 on financial operations carried out by Politically Exposed Persons", he stressed.
If Angola was removed from the FATF gray list in 2018, a fact that "embarrassed" the country's credibility internationally and "hampers" financial operations with correspondent banks, currently, Ottoniel dos Santos stressed, "there is no reason to foresee, given the to the advances made, a return to that unwanted status, quite the opposite".
"All this activity, both by the executive and legislative powers, as well as by the regulators of the financial system, BNA [National Bank of Angola], CMC [Capital Markets Commission] and ARSEG [Insurance Regulation and Supervision Agency] is closely linked to the firm commitment by the executive to create all the necessary conditions for attracting private investment as an engine for diversifying our economy", he emphasized.
The executive, continued Ottoniel dos Santos, will continue to focus on reducing and maintaining debt sustainability compatible levels of average annual financing needs.
In turn, the BNA administrator, Rui Miguéns, considered that, despite the good indications of a positive result of the Gafi evaluation, "it is just one step further in what is the conformity of the country's financial system, in particular with the international standards, governance, risk management and the prevention and fight against illegal practices".
Rui Miguéns stressed that there is still a lot to be done, stressing that the Angolan authorities cannot interpret a positive result of this assessment as the end of work.
"The international financial and economic reality is constantly changing and that means that the requirements and demands are also evolving. Whatever the result - we hope it will be positive, we work for it, we deserve it - but we cannot consider that the work of house is finished, that's done," he noted.
