APA-Cape Town (South Africa) A determined South Africa has set aside US$15 million to clear its name from an international list of countries being closely watched for lax anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told parliament late Wednesday.
Paris-based anti-money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February added South Africa to the list of countries to be monitored to ensure the implementation of anti-money laundering and terrorism funding regulations.
Presenting his ministry’s budget vote in parliament, Godongwana said the Financial Intelligence Centre had allocated more than US$15 million over the medium-term towards this task.
The minister said government led an unprecedented process last year to pass an omnibus of statutory amendments that addressed the gaps in South Africa’s anti-money laundering regime.
“The National Treasury, as the lead in the Interdepartmental Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating of the Financing of Terrorism, continues to coordinate government-wide efforts to comprehensively address the remaining weaknesses in our legal system,” he said.
Godongwana said one of the many examples is the frozen assets of individuals and entities designated by the United Nations to be linked to ISIS, the Taliban and al Qaeda terrorist groups.
He said the ministry had updated and strengthened systems for supervising non-financial businesses that were at risk of being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorism.
“We have also strengthened the systems needed to identify the beneficial owners of business and trusts, so that they cannot hide behind the veil of corporate secrecy when engaged in money laundering,” the minister said.
Godongwana said these updates have been submitted to the FATF and a positive re-ratings of the country’s technical compliance with FATF standards was expected in the next six months.
NM/jn/APA