The Mozambican state has failed in 80% of the international recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) against money laundering and terrorist financing, says the non-governmental organization (NGO) Center for Public Integrity (CIP).

"By May 2022, Mozambique had complied with only eight of the FATF's 40 recommendations, which corresponds to only 20%," the CIP says in an analysis it released yesterday.

The analysis warns that the country risks facing restrictions on access to the international financial system because it has failed to bring its regulatory and institutional framework up to the standards required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the fight against that type of crime.

The FATF was established in 1989 by the group of the world's richest countries, known as the G7.

CIP says that, "in practical terms, it means that international transfers to and from bank accounts domiciled in Mozambique, which now take about 72 hours to be effective, may take much longer than 20 days," as part of the sanctions for non-compliance with the rules imposed by the FATF.

The penalties may also result in a ban on the use abroad of cards issued in Mozambique, notes CIP.

"Between October 17 and 21, 2022, Mozambique will be subject to assessment by the FATF at an annual conference to be held in Paris and, in the face of non-compliance, the country runs the risk of entering the grey list of this entity," reads the document.

In 2019, the East and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMGL) visited Mozambique and produced a report.

Among the rules still to be fulfilled are a risk assessment, the provision of adequate resources and reinforcement of the authorities, according to the CIP.

Increasing institutional coordination and assessing the vulnerability of non-profit organizations to the occurrence of these types of crimes are other unfulfilled recommendations, he adds.

Among the eight suggestions taken up are new transaction registries, rules that make it easier to provide data to the Financial Intelligence Office, and extradition for money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, as well as fast and effective international cooperation in matters related to this offence.

Lusa was unable to get a reaction from the authorities to the results of the CIP analysis.