The information was provided by the director of the Financial Information Unit (UIF), Francisca de Brito, in Luanda, at a meeting with journalists, during which she explained the various phases of this evaluation process regarding the system for preventing and combating money laundering, in which experts will assess the degree of compliance and implementation of the FATF recommendations since 2012, when the previous report was approved and Angola was admitted as a member of Esaalmg (Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Group) , FATF regional group.
In 2010, Angola was included in the FATF "black list" and considered as a non-cooperative jurisdiction, due to the weaknesses of its financial system, having, however, moved to a "grey list", and in 2016 it was no longer considered a jurisdiction of high risk.
The new assessment started in October this year and by 2023, Angola will have to prove that it has complied with the 40 previous recommendations, with several points, which appear in the questionnaire with about 500 pages to which the FIU will have to respond by the 15th of this month.
Other steps will follow, until reaching the final stage of the report, which will be concluded in March 2023 and discussed in plenary the following month with 17 other African countries, a long process in which Angola will have to answer several questions.
One of the issues that Francisca de Brito foresees as more difficult to overcome has to do with the registration of assets, as little is known about many of the actual beneficiaries of these assets, accounts or transactions.
The head of the UIF stated that the assessment focuses on several institutions, but is particularly relevant for banks.
"Banks want to work and have an interest in everything going well, to convince their 'shareholders' [shareholders] that they can continue to do business. Banks want to look good, nobody wants their system to be seen as vulnerable," he stressed.
Furthermore, the process has an impact internationally, as it may involve higher costs for banks working with Angola.
"When the FATF says that a country has strategic flaws, investors, banks, will be forced to retreat", admits Francisca de Brito.
The director of the UIF, an autonomous body that works under the President of the Republic, therefore hopes that, in this second assessment, "Angola will be able to show the world how its current situation is" and that recommendations for improvements are followed, she stressed. , adding that "the process doesn't end in 2023".
By January 18 of next year, Angola should prepare the second part of its response to the recommendations, demonstrating its results.
By the end of May, everything should be ready to receive in the country a technical group with seven experts (from Portugal, Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia and the USA), which should visit Angola between the 27th of June and the 8th of July.
By September 30, Angola must respond to the preliminary report, starting from there discussions to resolve with the country issues raised during the process and identify priority issues to address in the plenary that should take place in April 2023, in Arusha, Tanzania, and where Angola will defend its assessment.
"The important thing is to convince the evaluators before this plenary of 17 countries", highlighted Francisca de Brito.
The mutual evaluation report will be published three to five weeks after this date, with responses to any comments that have been raised in plenary and after Angola confirms that the document is accurate.
The report includes an action plan that will indicate the measures that Angola must adopt to improve the anti-money laundering system and deadlines for doing so.
