Financial Crime World

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Burundi Falls Short of AML/CFT Regulations, Says FATF

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released a report assessing Burundi’s compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations. Unfortunately, the country was found to be lacking in several areas.

Compliance Assessment

The report evaluated Burundi’s compliance with 40 different recommendations and found that:

  • The country was largely compliant in several areas, including:
    • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach
    • National cooperation and coordination
    • Targeting financial sanctions related to terrorism
  • However, Burundi was partially compliant in several other areas, including:
    • Confiscation and provisional measures
    • Terrorist financing offence
    • Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation
    • Customer due diligence
    • Record keeping
    • Politically exposed persons
    • Correspondent banking
    • Money or value transfer services
    • Reporting of suspicious transactions
  • The country was also found to be non-compliant in several areas, including:
    • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements
    • Regulation and supervision of DNFBPs (designated non-financial businesses and professions)
    • Mutual legal assistance: freezing and confiscation

Concerns and Recommendations

Burundi’s failure to implement AML/CFT regulations has raised concerns about the country’s ability to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF report highlighted several areas where Burundi needs to improve its compliance, including:

  • Strengthening its laws and regulations
  • Increasing international cooperation
  • Improving its supervisory and enforcement powers

Government Response

The Burundian government has pledged to address these issues and work towards full compliance with the FATF recommendations. However, the country’s slow pace of reform has raised concerns among international experts and governments, who are calling for greater efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the region.