FATF Applauds Namibia’s Progress in Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Following Voluntary Update

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has commended Namibia for its swift actions to address gaps in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. The commendation follows Namibia’s voluntary progress report, presented during the recent FATF plenary meeting held October 23-25 in Paris.

Namibia’s report highlighted progress on nine of the thirteen recommended actions in its FATF Action Plan, with FATF acknowledging these advancements as a promising step toward bolstering the country’s financial crime defenses.

"The Financial Action Task Force has successfully noted Namibia’s progress in partially addressing nine of the 13 recommended actions in a voluntary progress report that the country presented at the just-ended plenary meeting held from October 23-25 in Paris, France," said Brian Eiseb, Director of Namibia’s Financial Intelligence Centre.

Eiseb noted that Namibia opted to submit this voluntary update, despite no mandatory reporting requirement this cycle.

The FATF recognized Namibia’s efforts in several key areas, including anti-money laundering risk-based supervision, the filing of beneficial ownership information, and initiatives to strengthen law enforcement’s capacity to investigate complex financial crimes.

Despite these gains, challenges remain. Eiseb acknowledged the need to further improve Namibia's capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate terrorism-related and other sophisticated financial crimes.

"Namibia, however, must improve, among others, its capacity to prevent, identify, and investigate terrorism-related and other complex financial crimes," he said.

Since being added to the FATF grey list in February 2024, Namibia has committed to a timeline that mandates reporting every six months, beginning in November 2024 and extending through May 2026. Eiseb noted that continued progress could enable Namibia to exit the grey list ahead of schedule if it effectively implements its anti-money laundering framework.

"The compulsory reporting ends in May 2026 and is divided into reporting cycles of six months, which implies that Namibia will have to demonstrate that it has largely addressed the remaining 13 action items as set out in the timelines of the Action Plan," Eiseb said.