The strategic plan, which involved extensive consultation, covers the 3-year period from August 2005 – July 2008. The plan sets out the strategic outcomes in a mission statement for the ESAAMLG as an FATF-style regional body (FSRB) and 7 key strategic objectives, its expected results and the strategy needed to achieve the results.
The strategy is based on a detailed analysis of the main issues in the region including strengths, weaknesses and main challenges. A summary of this analysis is included in Annex 1. For monitoring purposes, Annex 2 summarises the strategy by each responsible party – the Council of Ministers, Member Countries, the Task Force and Multi-disciplinary Committees and the ESAAMLG secretariat. The plan will be complemented by a detailed annual work plans for ESAAMLG that will be approved by the ESAAMLG Council of Ministers at its annual meeting in August.
The plan has been produced against the backdrop of a need to speed up implementation of AML and CFT standards, as set out in the forty Recommendations to combat money laundering and the nine Special Recommendations to combat the financing of terrorism (40+9) developed by the FATF which is the international standard setting body. The ESAAMLG is proud to be part of the international community of more than 150 nations which have embraced the standard and are implementing measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The benefits of implementing these measures are great and include the increased stability of a country’s financial sector, the potential for increased credit-worthiness and greater investment, as well as providing law enforcement with additional tools in order to protect countries from the negative effects of crime and the activities of criminal syndicates. These measures will lead to the financial institutions and others becoming more robust and better able to participate in the global financial and trading systems.
The ESAAMLG strategic plan seeks to intensify efforts to implement the full 40+9 Recommendations in all countries and the development of their AML/ CFT systems. The strategic plan seeks to implement the priority areas for countries to implement their AML/ CFT system, as the result of a developmental approach to implementation (as set out in Annex 3).
The plan recognises that there is a need for ESAAMLG to focus more on strategic issues and achieving results. The Council of Ministers must be provided with the information and support necessary for it to reach regional agreement on matters of strategic importance and to subsequently oversee implementation.
The Task Force of senior officials has been established to drive implementation of ESAAMLG decisions at national level and report progress. The Task Force makes use of expert advice available from National Multi-disciplinary Committees, the ESAAMLG secretariat and other organisations. This should enable the Council of Ministers to provide ESAAMLG with active and sustained political support. In addition, Ministers should then seek to ensure that their respective governments provide active political support for the establishment of AML/CFT regimes within their own countries, in keeping with their undertakings to ESAAMLG.
Separate mention is made of the ESAAMLG secretariat because it is important that it adds value to national development efforts whilst recognising that ultimately the implementation of international standards is the responsibility of individual governments. Special attention will therefore be given to objective
