ESAAMLG GRANTS THE REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA OBSERVER STATUS

The Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) welcomed the Republic of Angola (Angola) as an observer member at the 21st Meeting of the Task Force of Senior Officials held in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania, on 4th – 8th April 2011.  The decision to grant Angola observer status was taken by the Council of Ministers at its 10th Meeting held in Lilongwe, Republic of Malawi, on 8th September 2010. The granting of observer status to the Republic of Angola is in accordance with one of the objectives of the ESAAMLG Strategic Plan (2005 – 2008) of encouraging non-ESAAMLG members in the region to cooperate in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and to join the ESAAMLG.    

At the 21st Meeting of the Task Force of Senior Officials, the delegation from Angola expressed gratitude on becoming an observer member, and made commitment to work closely with the ESAAMLG to fulfill the requirements of observer members and gain full membership. In becoming an observer member, Angola has endorsed the ESAAMLG Memorandum of Understanding which commits members to effectively implement the 40+9 Financial Action Task Force Recommendations and other relevant international standards on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including undergoing mutual evaluation process using the AML/CFT methodology applicable at the time of evaluation.

One of the critical criteria which an observer member country should fulfill before becoming a full member of ESAAMLG is to enact laws criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing and commit to implementing systems to enforce the laws. ESAAMLG will undertake an on-site visit in Angola to assess the AML/CFT systems in place and determine the programme of action essential to improve its systems

At the 21st Meeting, the Task Force of Senior Officials and Angola agreed on an outreach programme which let to the formation of a Contact Group for Angola. The main task of the Contact Group is to work closely with the authorities in Angola and assist them to attain full membership. The Contact Group will regularly report to the Task Force of Senior Officials on progress made to assist ESAAMLG in deciding whether to grant full membership to Angola once all the requirements have been fulfilled. 

ESAAMLG and Angola look forward to working together to implement effective AML/CFT systems for the benefit of the member country, the region and the world financial systems.

ESAAMLG Secretariat

June 2011