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FATF placed Nigeria and South Africa on its so-called "grey list" of nations requiring increased monitoring due to weaknesses in their systems to combat money laundering, terrorism funding, and proliferation financing.
The global watchdog for money laundering and terrorism financing made the announcement in a press release on Friday.
"When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring," the organization stated of the countries it designates.
Nigeria was placed to the list because it failed to address nine weaknesses in its anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism framework, whereas South Africa had eight. The FATF stated that both countries must enhance their investigation and prosecution of "serious and complex money laundering," as well as their identification, capture, and seizure of the proceeds generated by such crimes.
Additionally, the organization urges countries to improve their gathering and use of beneficial ownership information in investigations and demonstrate their agencies' ability to impose targeted financial sanctions efficiently. Nigeria must increase its investigation of terrorist financing risks within its borders posed by nongovernmental organizations.
The FATF also announced that Cambodia and Morocco had been removed off its grey list. Both countries were assessed to have addressed technical weaknesses in order to satisfy the commitments outlined in their respective action plans in February 2019 and February 2021.
In addition to Nigeria and South Africa, the following countries remain on the FATF's list: Albania, Barbados, Burkina Faso, the Cayman Islands, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gibraltar, Haiti, Jamaica, Jordan, Mali, Mozambique, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
By fLEXI tEAM