Zim seeks FATF condonation

ZIMBABWE is making concerted efforts to get itself removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, with a delegation from the taskforce expected to jet into the country to assess progress made, a senior Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) official has revealed.

FATF is an inter-governmental policymaking body of G7 countries whose purpose is to establish international standards, and to develop and promote policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit director Oliver Chiperesa on Friday told delegates at the Institute of Bankers of Zimbabwe Summer School in Victoria Falls that the country needed to craft a comprehensive action plan to be removed from the grey list.

Zimbabwe was placed on the FATF grey list in October 2019.

“We all know that Zimbabwe was put on the grey list in October 2019 which was two years ago. In these two years, we have completed the action plan that we agreed on,” Chiperesa said.

“At its plenary which ended last month, FATF concluded that Zimbabwe has substantially completed its action plan. So the next stage is for FATF to visit the country in January next year.”

He said the delegation coming to Zimbabwe would investigate whether what the country had reported what is obtaining on the ground.

Chiperesa said the delegation was also expected to meet government officials to get their commitment in setting up a strong framework to enable sufficient antimoney-laundering and counter financial terrorism strategies.

As a result of being grey listed, banks and other financial institutions had to apply extra checks for transactions involving Zimbabwe and other countries on the list.

The extra checks applied involve monitoring of transactions by banks and obliged entities to prevent, detect and disrupt suspicious transactions.

The other listed countries include the Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, and Panama.