Financial Crime World

Sudan’s Compliance Risk Assessment: A Mixed Bag of Successes and Challenges

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Khartoum, Sudan - The latest report from Sudan has revealed a mixed bag of successes and challenges in implementing the technical requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations. While the country has made significant progress in some areas, it still faces several challenges in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Strengths

Sudan’s compliance with certain FATF recommendations is worthy of note. Specifically:

  • Recommendation R.1 - Assessing risk & applying risk-based approach: Sudan has implemented measures to assess risk and apply a risk-based approach.
  • Recommendation R.2 - National cooperation and coordination: The country has demonstrated effective national cooperation and coordination in its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • Recommendation R.7 - Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation: Sudan has made significant progress in implementing targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation.

Additionally, the country has taken steps to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing by:

  • Implementing measures to prevent money laundering (Recommendation R.10 - Customer due diligence)

Challenges

However, Sudan also faces significant challenges in several areas, including:

  • Non-profit organisations (R.8): The country’s laws and regulations related to non-profit organizations are still a concern.
  • Financial institution secrecy laws (R.9): Sudan’s financial institution secrecy laws have not been fully implemented.
  • Regulation and supervision of financial institutions (R.26): The country’s regulation and supervision of financial institutions require improvement.

Furthermore, Sudan has been found to be non-compliant with the following recommendations:

  • Recommendation R.20 - Reporting of suspicious transactions
  • Recommendation R.24 - Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons
  • Recommendation R.25 - Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements

Way Forward

Sudan’s compliance rating is mixed, with some areas showing significant improvement while others remain a concern. To effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the country must continue to work towards addressing these challenges.

Additionally, Sudan has yet to fully implement several critical recommendations, including those related to:

  • Correspondent banking (R.13)
  • Money or value transfer services (R.14)
  • Wire transfers (R.16)

These areas are crucial for preventing the misuse of financial systems and must be prioritized by the government.

Conclusion

While Sudan has made significant progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations, there is still much work to be done to ensure that its financial system is robust and effective in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.