Mauritania Falls Short in Risk-Based Approach to Anti-Money Laundering Efforts
Mauritania has been found to be largely compliant in several areas of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), but falls short in implementing a risk-based approach to prevent illicit financial transactions.
A Work in Progress: Mauritania’s Risk-Based Approach
While Mauritania has made progress in recent years to strengthen its AML/CFT framework, there is still much work to be done. The country’s risk-based approach to anti-money laundering efforts has been deemed largely compliant by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report. However, this designation does not necessarily mean that Mauritania’s financial institutions are adequately equipped to identify and mitigate money laundering risks.
The Need for Improvement
The FATF report highlights several areas where Mauritania needs to improve its AML/CFT efforts:
- Implementing a risk-based approach to customer due diligence
- Enhancing internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries
- Improving the regulation and supervision of financial institutions
- Strengthening the powers of supervisors
- Increasing transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements
Without these improvements, Mauritania risks being non-compliant with international AML/CFT standards, which could have serious consequences for its financial sector.
FATF Report: Mauritania’s Rating
According to the FATF report, Mauritania has been rated as follows:
| Requirement | Rating |
|---|---|
| R.1 - Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach | Largely compliant |
| R.2 - National cooperation and coordination | Compliant |
| R.3 - Money laundering offense | Largely compliant |
| R.4 - Confiscation and provisional measures | Largely compliant |
| R.5 - Terrorist financing offense | Compliant |
| R.6 - Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing | Largely compliant |
| R.7 - Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation | Largely compliant |
| R.8 - Non-profit organizations | Partially compliant |
| R.9 - Financial institution secrecy laws | Largely compliant |
| R.10 - Customer due diligence | Compliant |
| R.11 - Record keeping | Compliant |
| R.12 - Politically exposed persons | Compliant |
| R.13 - Correspondent banking | Largely compliant |
| R.14 - Money or value transfer services | Largely compliant |
| R.15 - New technologies | Partially compliant |
| R.16 - Wire transfers | Largely compliant |
| R.17 - Reliance on third parties | Compliant |
| R.18 - Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries | Compliant |
| R.19 - Higher-risk countries | Compliant |
| R.20 - Reporting of suspicious transactions | Compliant |
| R.21 - Tipping-off and confidentiality | Largely compliant |
| R.22 - DNFBPs: Customer due diligence | Compliant |
| R.23 - DNFBPs: Other measures | Largely compliant |
| R.24 - Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons | Partially compliant |
| R.25 - Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements | Largely compliant |
| R.26 - Regulation and supervision of financial institutions | Compliant |
| R.27 - Powers of supervisors | Compliant |
| R.28 - Regulation and supervision of DNFBPs | Partially compliant |
| R.29 - Financial intelligence units | Largely compliant |
| R.30 - Responsibilities of law enforcement and investigative authorities | Largely compliant |
| R.31 - Powers of law enforcement and investigative authorities | Compliant |
| R.32 - Cash couriers | Largely compliant |
| R.33 - Statistics | Partially compliant |
| R.34 - Guidance and feedback | Largely compliant |
| R.35 - Sanctions | Compliant |
| R.36 - International instruments | Largely compliant |
| R.37 - Mutual legal assistance | Largely compliant |
| R.38 - Mutual legal assistance: freezing and confiscation | Largely compliant |
| R.39 - Extradition | Largely compliant |
| R.40 - Other forms of international cooperation | Largely compliant |
Overall, Mauritania has made progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations, but there is still much work to be done to ensure that its AML/CFT framework is robust and effective.