Govt working to keep Ghana off money-laundering blacklist – Ofori Atta

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said his outfit will enforce policies to avoid Ghana from returning to the money laundering list

Ghana has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s money laundering list

After August 2021, the country could be delisted from the EU list of ‘money laundering’ countries

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said the government is working around the clock to prevent Ghana from making its way back on the money laundering list of the Financial Action Task Force, Joy News has reported.

Ghana has been delisted for the Financial Action Task Force’s “Grey List” countries with weak money laundering policies.

On the back of this development, Finance Minister has said government is putting measures in place to avoid a blacklist.

“The commitment from the Finance Ministry, Ghana Revenue Authority and the Bank of Ghana to give the appropriate resources to Financial International Center so that it becomes a best class organization is in process. So the strengthening of the FIC, awareness by the public and institutions so that self-regulation and declaration of penalty will be the way to go here,” Joy News quoted him.

Mr. Ofori-Atta believes Ghana being delisted from the money laundering list will raise investor confidence in the country.

“The international community has renewed its confidence in Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. This is a great relief for the country, considering the economic consequences suffered by the country while on the list. This will boost confidence in the integrity of our financial environment and also boost foreign direct investment”, he stated.

On the other hand, Joy News has reported that Ghana is set to be removed from the EU list of ‘money laundering’ countries possibly after August 2021,

According to the online report, the “grouping” noted that there are still some processes that need to be completed before Ghana can be taken off its list, adding, “now that Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Ghana from its list, there are no more requirements from the EU side.”