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Govt vows to combat money laundering, terrorism financing crimes

Author: Nyathong William | Published: July 14, 2024

South Sudan is still in the FATF grey list. (Courtesy)

The South Sudan government has pledged commitment to adopt and implement anti-money laundering and counter terrorism laws to eradicate the practices and save the country from being blacklisted.

This was during a review of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2012 Amendment Bill 2024 – facilitated by the parliamentary Standing Specialized Committee on National Security and Public Order – on Friday.

The bill was passed by the National Cabinet in March 2024, and it is currently being amended to reflex new developments around the world in areas of Money Laundering and Terrorism.

The review was attended by government agencies including the Financial Intelligence Unit, National Security Service Economic Division, Economic Crime Unit of the CID, the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of South Sudan, and Civil Society among others.

Samuel Buhori Lotti, the Deputy Chairperson of the parliamentary committee, said the consultation discussed the importance of combating money laundering and terrorism financing crimes.

Mr. Lotti emphasized that money laundering has been a significant issue in the country, with billions of dollars lost through illegal activities, including terrorism financing and corruption.

“Money laundering has been an issue in this country and related also to corruption. We have heard reports from the Financial Intelligence Unit that we are losing billions of dollars through our Juba airport alone,” he said.

“As we are reviewing this law we want to bring this ill to stop, are also aware that some businesses in this country are used for financing terrorist activities in other countries.”

The lawmaker said the bill seeks to stop terrorist financing, stem the flow of illicit funds through South Sudan.

Addressing the public hearing, the legislator said South Sudan should step up its fight against terrorism and money laundering if the country is to be integrated into the global economic community.

“This law is very important it’s going to check illicit activities and as South Sudan is a member of the world economic community, it’s important that we fight terrorism through stopping the financing.”

“Many illicit money has been transferred in this country, invested and transferred as clean money, this is one of the very, very important aspects that as a member of the UN, we are very serious about this.”

He underscored that South Sudan is currently in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and highlights the need to implement measures to remove the country from the list.

According to him, South Sudan is at risk of being blacklisted over the money laundering issue unless it passes and implement relevant laws as soon as possible.

He added that if the country is blacklisted, it would make it difficult to export the crude oil, attract investors, and conduct financial transactions.

He said the committee is working hard to pass the bill and is open to incorporating expert opinions before tabling it for a second reading.

“South Sudan currently is in a grey list of money laundering activities in the world, and if we don’t pass these laws as soon as possible, we are likely to be blacklisted, and if this country is blacklisted, we will not be able to sell even our oil to the international markets.”

“We cannot be able to attract investors, we cannot do any financial transactions in this country, and this is going to be a very, very troubled state for South Sudan.”

The Act is drafted in accordance with Articles 52 and 182 of the transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011, which grants the government and the President the exclusive legislative and executive competence to enact legislation relating to regulatory mechanisms for banking and monetary affairs at all levels of government of South Sudan.

The FATF said it notes South Sudan’s limited progress across its action plan with all deadlines now expired and work remaining.

The FATF again encourages South Sudan to continue to implement its action plan to address the strategic deficiencies as soon as possible and demonstrate strong political and institutional commitment to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime, particularly in supporting the lead AML/CFT agency in coordinating national AML/CFT efforts.

 

 

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