January 12, 2016
The National Bank of Angola (BNA) today announced that it is implementing series of actions to strengthen compliance prevention measures of Anti-money Laundering (AML) and Financing of Terrorism (FT) in the Angolan financial system.
Responding to the policies and recommendations of the FATF / GAFI (Financial Action Task Force), the BNA has successfully implemented series of procedures and new legislations. These include highlighting policy reforms, developing training materials and guidelines for BNA regulated institutions, ongoing monitoring of the financial system and penalizing offending institutions that are not fully compliant with the codes and conduct laid out by BNA
BNA indicated that suspicious transactions will be addressed to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The FIU is entitled to freeze funds and economic resources of persons, groups or entities designated that comes under their scanner of conducting any fraudulent activities. Angola has made a high-level government commitment to work with FATF and regional bodies to address gaps in the country’s financial infrastructure and has taken significant steps towards aligning itself with FATF standards and policies. The BNA has adopted all of the FATF recommended initiatives:
- – Joining the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG)
- – Enactment of laws to provide a legal basis for freezing, seizing and confiscation measures for the proceeds of money laundering and terror financing
- – Amendment of law to criminalize terrorism financing
- – Enactment of regulations and procedural arrangements to implement the obligations set out by United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR)
- – Establishment of a fully operational and effectively functioning Financial Intelligence Unit
- – Protection of the Financial Intelligence Unit’s operational independence and autonomy
- – Improving Customer Due Diligence (CDD) measures