Financial Crime World

Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Regime in Namibia

Namibia has made significant progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, but still requires further action to strengthen its AML/CFT regime.

Current Challenges

  • Establish supervisory bodies for accountable institutions that do not have them
  • Provide regulatory powers to administrative supervisory bodies
  • Develop a comprehensive framework for multi-disciplinary task forces
  • Adopt legislative instruments to create regulatory bodies for accountable institutions without them and provide regulatory powers to supervisory bodies

National AML/CFT Programme Coordination

Namibia must ensure effective coordination of national AML/CFT programmes by developing a framework that outlines the functionality of multi-disciplinary task forces tasked with investigating and prosecuting complex financial crimes.

Anti-Money Laundering Advisory Council (AMLAC)

The Anti-Money Laundering Advisory Council (AMLAC) was established to coordinate Namibia’s national AML/CFT strategy and facilitate liaison between ministries and agencies responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The AMLAC is chaired by the Governor of the Bank of Namibia and includes representatives from various government ministries, agencies, and institutions.

Functions of AMLAC

  • Advising the Minister of Finance on policies and measures to combat money laundering activities
  • Making recommendations for legislation and policy enhancements in the area of AML/CFT
  • Coordinating the implementation of the national strategy
  • Devising strategies for enhancing Namibia’s AML/CFT capacity

Training and Capacity Building

Namibia has conducted training for staff of financial institutions, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement agencies on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. However, further action is required to:

  • Develop training programs for law enforcement agencies and the judiciary
  • Allocate sufficient resources for AML/CFT training

Resource Allocation

The Government of Namibia has allocated a budget to the Bank of Namibia’s Financial Intelligence Centre operations. However, further action is required to ensure that sufficient resources are provided to:

  • Enforce AML/CFT laws
  • Recruit high-level professional and non-professional staff
  • Prepare a costing analysis for implementing the AML/CFT programme

Conclusion

While Namibia has made progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, further action is required to strengthen its AML/CFT regime and ensure effective coordination of national programmes, training, and resource allocation.