At the 19th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), held earlier this month in eSwatini (previously known as Swaziland), it was announced that Mauritius is now compliant with most of the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The latest Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) for Mauritius is due to be published soon.

The positive re-evaluation of Mauritius by the ESAAMLG further instills confidence in its legal and regulatory framework and cements its position as a jurisdiction of choice for international investors.

For recall, Mauritius is a member of the ESAAMLG since 1999 and the MER sets out how well Mauritius has implemented the technical requirements of the FATF Recommendations and how effective its AML/CFT system is.

Along these same lines, the National AML/CFT Committee approved the National Strategy 2019-2022 for Combatting of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation and the National Action Plan to support its implementation. These were tabled before the Cabinet of Ministers in August 2019. The National Strategy is based on the following main strategic themes, namely:

• (a) strengthening the AML/CFT Legal and Regulatory Framework;
• (b) implementing a comprehensive risk-based supervision framework;
• (c) strengthening the process by which the Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing threats are detected and disrupted, criminals are prosecuted and illegal proceeds are confiscated;
• (d) enhancing national co-ordination and cooperation;
• (e) implementing an effective AML/CFT data collection system in all relevant competent authorities; and
• (f) enhancing regional and international cooperation. The National AML/CFT Committee has approved both the National Strategy and the National Action Plan.