Financial Crime World

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SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE: AML Regulations Worldwide in a Nutshell

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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has issued its ratings for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations worldwide, with SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE receiving a mixed bag of compliance grades.

Compliance Grades

According to the FATF’s latest assessment, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE achieved:

  • Largely compliant ratings in several areas, including:
    • National cooperation and coordination
    • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach
    • Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing
  • Partially compliant ratings for:
    • Confiscation and provisional measures
    • Money or value transfer services
    • DNFBPs (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions)
  • Non-compliant ratings for:
    • Non-profit organisations
    • Financial institution secrecy laws
    • Customer due diligence
    • Record keeping
    • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements

Areas of Improvement

The country received non-compliant ratings in key areas, indicating that it has not fully implemented the necessary AML regulations. To achieve full compliance, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE will need to:

  • Strengthen its regulatory framework
  • Improve its enforcement of AML laws

Additional Compliance Ratings

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE also received:

  • Compliant ratings for:
    • Financial institution secrecy laws
    • Customer due diligence
    • Reliance on third parties
  • Largely compliant ratings for:
    • Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries
    • Reporting of suspicious transactions
    • Powers of supervisors

FATF’s AML/CFT Assessment

The FATF’s AML/CFT assessment is a critical evaluation of countries’ efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The organization uses a 35-point checklist to evaluate countries’ compliance with international standards and best practices in this area.

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE’s mixed performance suggests that while it has made progress in implementing AML regulations, there is still room for improvement.