Uganda Makes Progress in Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

Kampala, Uganda - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has revised Uganda’s technical compliance rating for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) measures.

Significant Progress Made

According to a report released by FATF, Uganda has made significant progress in resolving technical shortcomings identified in its Mutual Evaluation Report (MER). The country has fully addressed deficiencies in Recommendation 12 (initially rated partially compliant) and largely addressed those on Recommendation 22 (initially rated partially compliant).

Key Findings

• All designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), including trust and company service providers (TCSPs), are covered under the Second Schedule to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2013.
• Uganda has not undertaken risk assessments on new technologies and products used by DNFBPs.

Progress Assessment

The report highlighted that Uganda: * Meets criteria 22.2, 22.3, and 22.5 * Mostly meets criterion 22.1 * Partly meets criterion 22.4

Revised Technical Compliance Rating

Uganda’s technical compliance rating has been revised from partially compliant to largely compliant for Recommendation 22. The country’s overall progress in resolving technical compliance shortcomings has also led to a re-rating of several other recommendations.

Next Steps

The FATF review team evaluated information provided by Uganda in support of its request for re-rating and noted that while steps have been taken to address deficiencies, the country still needs to make sufficient progress to warrant re-rating for several other recommendations. Uganda will remain under enhanced follow-up and is required to continue informing the East Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) of its progress in improving and implementing its AML/CFT measures.