At its October 2021 Plenary, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to remove Mauritius from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring.
The FATF has welcomed the significant progress made by Mauritius in further improving its AML/CFT regime, and in addressing related technical deficiencies to meet the commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF in February 2020.
This is a major development for Mauritius in its sustained fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. It further enhances confidence and trust in our banking sector and the jurisdiction as an international financial centre.
The Bank of Mauritius remains committed to continuously engage with all stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the AML/CFT system.
The announcement made by the FATF today on the removal of Mauritius from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring reaffirms the commitment of Mauritius as a trusted jurisdiction for banking and financial services.
The delisting will lead to a boost in the trust that international investors have in Mauritius, hence leading to more investment in the country. At the same time, it also addresses the challenges that the economy was facing since last year following the listing of Mauritius by the FATF.
This announcement could not be more timely for the banking industry, especially as we are seeing trade and investment picking up and that we are well on track as regards our economic recovery. This development can only further improve ease of doing business in the country by catalysing confidence in our jurisdiction and by contributing to more financial stability.
As the Head of the Mauritius delegation, I must put on record the tremendous efforts that have been put in by all competent authorities in the country since last year to achieve these laudable results. Mauritius is indeed one of the very few countries to have completed the FATF action plan well before the agreed timeline.
The proactiveness and adaptability of all competent authorities have been pivotal in this journey. Moreover, mechanisms which were put into place have been instrumental in achieving implementation of the action plan.
The Honourable Prime Minister himself chaired an inter-ministerial committee to ensure that implementation was on track. Furthermore, the Core Group under the chairmanship of the Financial Secretary, the Subcommittee of the Core Group under the chairmanship of the Director General of the ICAC and the Interagency Coordination Committee under my chairmanship, have all contributed to achieving the successful implementation of the action plan.
The high level political commitment, teamwork, close collaboration amongst competent authorities and stakeholders, and the dedication of our professionals have made it happen.
It is now important for us to ensure that measures which have been put in place not only remain in place but that they are further improved, in line with the FATF’s concept of sustainability. In that respect, we shall leave no stone unturned to foster the sustainability of our AML/CFT framework.
The ICC, which regroups all regulatory and supervisory bodies with an AML/CFT mandate will also see to it that all its members are staying abreast with ongoing requirements on the front of capacity building, outreach initiatives as well as exchange of experience and expertise in AML/CFT matters.
With respect to the banking industry, an ongoing dialogue has been established with stakeholders to ensure seamless monitoring of AML/CFT matters.
As a forward-looking organisation, the Bank of Mauritius has already rolled out a Graduate Programme in collaboration with the Financial Services Commission to prepare the necessary pool of AML/CFT talents for the country. The Bank also looks forward to exchange of experience with other countries.
