Financial Crime World

Mauritania’s National Risk Assessment: Non-Profit Organizations Exposed to Terrorism Financing Risks

Overview

Mauritania’s National Risk Assessment has identified key areas of concern related to non-profit organizations (NPOs) that are exposed to the risks of terrorism financing. The assessment highlights both positive developments and shortcomings in addressing these risks.

Positive Developments

  • Number of NPOs at risk: 1233 NPOs collect or distribute funds for charitable, religious, educational, cultural, or other good deeds.
  • Active NPOs: Only 100 NPOs are actively operating, which Mauritania considers a subset of organizations at risk of terrorist financing abuse.
  • Low threats posed by terrorist entities: The National Risk Assessment concludes that there are almost no threats posed by terrorist entities to NPOs.
  • Amendments to AML/CFT Law: Mauritania has reviewed the appropriateness of procedures related to NPOs, resulting in amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law (No. 017-2019) and its implementing decree (Decree 197-2019).
  • NPO sector risk assessment mechanism: The National Risk Report recommends setting up a mechanism to periodically re-assess risks every three years, including the NPO sector.
  • Protocols and awareness programs: A protocol has been signed between the FIU and supervisory authorities to promote outreach and awareness programs about vulnerabilities in NPOs that can be misused for financing terrorism.

Shortcomings

  • Absence of information on terrorist actor abuse: There is no information available on how terrorist actors abuse NPOs.
  • Execution of outreach programs: No evidence has been provided to demonstrate the execution of outreach programs to raise and maintain awareness among NPOs.
  • Development of best practices: No evidence has been provided to show that work has been done with NPOs to develop and refine best practices to address terrorist financing risks.
  • Enhanced RBA supervision: There is no information available on the measures taken to enhance RBA supervision over NPOs.

Conclusion

While Mauritania has taken steps related to NPOs, it still needs to address these shortcomings to improve its risk assessment and mitigation efforts. Addressing these areas will help ensure that the country effectively mitigates the risks of terrorism financing through non-profit organizations.