Absa Bank Mozambique recently held a session focused on encouraging public-private partnerships in the fight against financial crime.

Since 2022, Mozambique has been on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body that aims to develop and promote national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The initiative is aligned with the National Strategy to Combat Financial Crimes and Absa has decided to support the Mozambican government in its efforts to remove the country from the FATF's Grey List.

"The Absa Group and Absa Mozambique have the fight against money laundering and the prevention of the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a strategic objective strictly aligned with the development of their business.

Absa intends to make a strategic contribution to the various public institutions that have legal procedural responsibility, through these initiatives that can support the development of Mozambique's capacity to become a benchmark in the fight against money laundering," said the Director of Compliance of Absa Bank Mozambique, Iuri Khan.

The event brought together organizations that stand out in the development of actions of this kind, including Mozambique's Financial Information Office (GIFIM), Police and Investigation Authorities, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Mozambican Banking Association, the National Administration of Conservation Areas and the Absa Group.

Present on the occasion, the representative of the Executive Committee for the removal of Mozambique from the Grey List, welcomed the bank's initiative and presented the current state of the process of removing Mozambique from the grey list.

"This is a positive initiative that meets the strategic objectives set out in the Executive Committee's action plan for removing Mozambique from the Grey List.

The government hopes for the continued support of Absa and the other financial institutions in the fight against this scourge, and cooperation in all the activities necessary to remove the country from the FATF gray list," said the representative of the Executive Committee for the Removal of Mozambique from the Gray List, Luís Cezerilo.

Absa is taking the lead in the next steps towards the formal establishment of this partnership, positioning itself as a strategic partner of the Government of Mozambique in Financial Crime Prevention, but also reinforcing the Absa Group's commitment to supporting local communities and governments in the markets in which it operates.