Ghana will be taken of the Anti-Money Laundering List in June 2021
• Strict enforcement of regulations is required to keep Ghana off EU anti-money laundering list
• Ghana will in June 2021 be taken off the Anti-Money Laundering List
• Ghana was placed on the list in May 2020 based on recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force
Ghana risks reclaiming a place on the European Union's anti-money laundering and terrorism financing list in the future if it does not enforce regulations against the menace, Head of Technical Operations at e-Crime Bureau has said.
According to Eric Kwaku Mensah, efforts must be made to address the structural and strategic deficiencies within the financial crimes space or the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime.
In an interaction with Citi Business News monitored by GhanaWeb, Eric Mensah said a conscientious effort will be required to maintain Ghana’s standing as it prepares to be delisted in June 2021.
“I must say that a conscious effort was put in to get Ghana off the list. We addressed a lot of strategic deficiencies within our financial crimes or AML/CTF regime. As these things have been addressed, it is very important that when it comes to supervision, and the enforcement of some of the regulations that have been passed, we ought to make sure we enforce them to make sure we are not flagged again and put back unto the grey list.”
Mensah urged for a strengthened and strict enforcement of all anti-money laundering regulations in the financial system.
Meanwhile, the European Commission will in June 2021 remove Ghana from the list of countries deficient in Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.
The development comes after the Commission in May 2020 announced that Ghana was among 12 countries that posed “significant threats” to the EU’s financial system, due to deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing strategy.
According to the EU, the weaknesses identified posed a serious risk to their financial system hence the blacklist, based on recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force.
Ghana’s Finance Ministry in a statement at the time described the action as surprising and unfortunate, especially when government claimed that they had already taken steps to address all the issues, identified by the task force.
The action came with some scrutiny for Banks in Ghana dealing with their counterparts in Europe.
