Ghana included in UK’s list of money laundering, terrorist financing countries

Ghana has been listed among a number of countries considered by the United Kingdom as havens for money laundering and terrorist financing.

The West African country was included in a list of 21 countries with weak or deficiency in anti-laundering and terrorism financing laws.

The countries are Albania, Barbados, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ghana, Iran, Jamaica, Mauritius, and Morocco.

The rest are Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Senegal, Syria, Uganda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

The listing has been done under The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) *(High-Risk Countries)* Regulations 2021. UK Statutory Instruments 2021 No. 392 Regulation 2.

In 2020, the European Union’s listing of Ghana as a “high-risk third country” came into effect despite assurances from the Ghanaian government that it was assiduously taking steps to avert the listing.

On 7 May 2020, the European Commission (EC) announced a revised list of high-risk third countries to align with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The new third countries listed by the EU have been identified as having strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes.