Money laundering: the government is disappointed by the EU's decision to blacklist Ghana

The Ministry of Finance is disappointed with the European Commission's decision to add Ghana to a list of 23 countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing frameworks.

"We consider that the methodology used by the EC is flawed, as there has been no communication with Ghana regarding gaps to be improved. As a result, Ghana has not had the opportunity to respond or the time it takes to implement corrective measures, which is the norm, "the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

"The Ghanaian blacklist by the European Commission therefore does not reflect the current state of Ghana's AML / CFT regime," he added.

Ghana and its neighbor in West Africa, Nigeria, were added to an already existing 16-country blacklist, announced by the EC in a February 13 press release.

The listing does not, however, result in any type of sanction, restriction of commercial relations or obstruction of development badistance; but obliges banks and obliged entities to apply enhanced due diligence measures for transactions involving these countries.

Read the full statement below:

RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE TO THE LIST OF COUNTRIES WITH STRATEGIC AML / CFT DEFICIENCIES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Accra, Tuesday 19^th February 2019 …… Ghana regrets the decision of the European Commission (EC) of 13 February 2019 to add Ghana to its list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and anti-money laundering framework. Terrorist Financing (AML / CFT). . Ghana's commitment to strengthen the evolution of its AML / CFT framework has been recognized by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard-setting body for AML / CFT.

2. We consider that the methodology used by the EC is flawed, as there has been no communication with Ghana regarding gaps to be improved. As a result, Ghana has not had the opportunity to respond or the time to implement corrective measures, which is the norm. We therefore consider that the decision is premature and seek its annulment. Our request is supported by the fact that:

· The FATF and its regional-style bodies, including the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), periodically badess Member States' AML / CFT regime by conducting mutual evaluation;

· Ghana successfully pbaded the second round of mutual AML / CFT badessments and became the first country in the West African subregion to undergo the second round of the Mutual Evaluation Process , whose report was adopted by the GIABA Ministerial Committee (GMC) at its May 2017 meeting;

· Following the FATF's discussion of the Ghana Mutual Evaluation Report at its October 2018 plenary meetings, the FATF identified certain strategic deficiencies in the country's AML / CFT framework and worked with Ghana to develop an action plan to address this problem. Indeed, Ghana is currently working with the FATF to effectively implement the plan of action; and

· Ghana has met twice with the FATF International Cooperation Review Group (IRIG). On January 17, 2019, Ghana had a second face-to-face meeting in Dubai, UAE, with the ICRG to discuss progress of the implementation of the action plan and has received positive feedback from the ICRG. The FATF, discussing the country's progress in addressing identified strategic deficiencies, also acknowledged Ghana's high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and GIABA to enhance the effectiveness of its AML / CFT regime.

3. The European Commission's blacklist of Ghana, therefore, does not reflect the current state of Ghana's AML / CFT regime. This is regrettable, and the Ghanaian authorities are willing to discuss with the Commission the true status of the country's AML / CFT regime and efforts to strengthen it and remove Ghana from their list of countries with strategic deficiencies in the country. their AML / CFT framework. .