Financial Crime World

Niger’s Financial Institution AML Policies Under Scrutiny

A recent report has shed light on Niger’s financial institution anti-money laundering (AML) policies, revealing a mixed bag of compliance with global standards. The country’s Mutual Evaluation Report 2021 assesses its progress in implementing technical requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The report highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of Niger’s AML policies.

  • Assessing Risk and Applying a Risk-Based Approach: Niger has made significant strides in assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach, which is an important step towards effective AML measures.
  • Cooperation with National Authorities: The country has also shown improvement in cooperating with national authorities, which is essential for combating financial crimes.
  • Challenges Ahead: However, Niger faces challenges in several areas, including confiscation and provisional measures, targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing, and correspondent banking.

Areas of Non-Compliance

The report notes that Niger’s non-profit organisations have been found non-compliant with AML regulations. Additionally, the country’s financial institution secrecy laws are considered compliant, but there are still areas for improvement.

  • Customer Due Diligence: While Niger is largely compliant in customer due diligence, record keeping, and reliance on third parties, there is still room for improvement.
  • Reporting of Suspicious Transactions: The report highlights the need for strengthening reporting of suspicious transactions to prevent financial crimes.

Key Areas for Improvement

The report identifies several key areas where Niger needs to strengthen its AML policies:

  • Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons: Niger must improve transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons to prevent money laundering.
  • Regulation and Supervision of Financial Institutions: The country’s financial institution secrecy laws are considered compliant, but the regulation and supervision of financial institutions require strengthening.
  • Powers of Supervisors and Law Enforcement Authorities: Niger needs to strengthen the powers of supervisors and law enforcement authorities to combat financial crimes.

Conclusion

While Niger has made progress in implementing FATF Recommendations, it still faces significant challenges in ensuring effective anti-money laundering measures are in place. The report serves as a wake-up call for the government to take concrete steps towards improving its AML policies and preventing financial crimes.