Malawi worried over money laundering cases
Malawi’s Secretary to Treasury Radson Mwadiwa on Friday said government is worried with non prosecution of money laundering cases, hence more efforts are needed to deal with individuals involved in financial crimes.
Mwadiwa said this in the capital, Lilongwe during a World Bank-supported national risk assessment workshop on money laundering and terrorist financing, adding the country has made several strides to put in place laws to combat the vices.
“One glaring gap in this regard is the absence of prosecuted cases on money laundering since the money laundering law was enacted in 2006. This is a cause for concern that requires answers,” said Mwadiwa.
He said the country’s economy needs to be protected from money laundering “criminals” to uplift Malawi’s socio-economic integrity in the public and private sectors.
“The Malawi Government realises that fighting financial crimes is part and parcel of its commitment to upholding good governance principles.
“Under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendation number one, every country is required to identify, assess and understand its money laundering and terrorist financing risks and ensure that the risks are mitigated and managed effectively,” said Mwadiwa.
He said Malawi is the second country in the Eastern and Southern Africa region to conduct the risk assessment exercise on the financial crimes after Namibia which he said did theirs last year.
World Bank senior financial sector specialist Stuart Yikona said Malawi is the “best” example on how countries can do their risk assessments on money laundering and terrorist financing.
“Once the risk assessment report is finalised, we would like to use it out there as a template on how to do the assessment,” said Yikona, adding World Bank expects the country to review its risks on the financial crimes every two to three years because the risks change over time.
