Seychelles to request re-rating of anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing standards |18 September 2019
(L to r) Mr Rampal, Minister Loustau-Lalanne and SS Payet during the meeting with the press yesterday
Seychelles will next year request a re-rating of the recommendations graded as non-compliant and partially compliant to globally accepted standards for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
The secretary of state for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning Patrick Payet who also chairs the national AML/CFT, has said work on Seychelles’ next report to be submitted next year is well underway and is being carried out in two phases.
The report requesting a re-rating will be submitted between March and April providing ample time for the reviewers to go through before it will be defended at the next meeting in September.
In the 2nd phase, in October, Seychelles will submit a second re-rating request which will be discussed in April 2021.
“The reason we are doing it in two phases is because of the internal capacity we have as well as to allow time for the different amendments to go through all the necessary processes,” SS Payet explained.
He further noted that the main piece of legislation that is being reviewed concerns Anti-Money Laundering and once its Bill is gazetted and finalised, a series of consultative meetings will be held to bring it to concerned stakeholders.
SS Payet gave these information yesterday morning during a meeting with the press.
Seychelles earlier this month took part in the 19th Council of Ministers and 38th Task Force of Senior Officers meetings of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) which was held in the Kingdom of Eswatini between September 1 to 6.
Seychelles’ delegation was headed by the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, who handed over the presidency of the ESAAMLG to Eswatini’s Minister for Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, during the 19th Council of Ministers meeting.
During the same period the 38th Task Force of Senior Officials meeting also took place.
The director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Richard Rampal, who was its chairman for the past year, also handed over the chairmanship to Eswatini’s head of FIU Fitzgerald Graham.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne and Mr Rampal were also present at the press meeting yesterday morning at Liberty House.
Seychelles accepted the one-year presidency of the ESAAMLG, a regional anti-money laundering group, from Tanzania in September last year during the Council of Ministers meeting held here.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne said during its one-year tenure Seychelles has ensured that the organisation continues to play a positive role in the fight against money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (ML/CFT) in the region.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne said among its achievements during its short mandate Seychelles has;
- pushed for the recruitment of additional, qualified and competent personnel to support the secretariat of the 18-member organisation based in Tanzania to better deliver on its responsibilities
- worked to recruit new members and Eritrea will be the 19th country to join the organisation early next year and being an arm of the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering (FATF) in the region, such an achievement is good for the ESAAMLG
- worked with member countries which were lagging behind in the implementation of the organisation’s recommendations to step up their effort so they come in line with required standards.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne described the Seychelles presidency as smooth enough. But he pointed out that out of the 40 ESAAMLG recommendations Seychelles is compliant in 20 sectors, partially compliant in 16 others while it needs to step up its effort to improve on four specific sectors where it is not compliant.
The four sectors of non-compliance include the non-profit organisations, mutual legal assistance, proliferation financing and new/virtual technologies.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne confirmed that work is already underway to review the different structures and mechanisms to support implementation of the different actions as per the recommendations noting that by the time the country requests a re-rating next year all the necessary, related laws would have also been amended.
But Mr Rampal said compared to other member countries and the region, Seychelles has been congratulated for its effort and the work done so far to review, update and modernise its laws as per the set FATF standards but he stressed that a lot more needs to be done in that area.
“As a country we are not satisfied to retain the rating we have received thus our renewed effort to work toward requesting a re-rating,” Mr Rampal stated.
Furthermore Mr Rampal said compliance by all member countries is paramount as they all have more to lose than gain as they will become less attractive to investors, they will lose out on all levels.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne confirmed that commitment to fight AML/CFT is at the highest level in the different countries and this is a great encouragement.
Meanwhile the minister has noted that the new chairperson has one year to continue where he has left off which is confirm Eritrea as a new member and work to re-engage Lesotho as a fully fledge member.
Other members of the Seychelles delegation at the meetings included representatives from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Anti Corruption Commission, the Central Bank, the Attorney General’s office, the Seychelles Revenue Commission, Seychelles Licencing Authority and the Registrar General Office. This, Minister Loustau-Lalanne said, is because AML/CFT touches and involves a lot of areas.
“This is why a national committee on AML/CFT was set up in the first place. Its aim is to work with those sectors that are lagging behind to give them the necessary support to boost their capacity in terms of performance, reporting and amending of their framework. It is important to continuously be relooking at the different mechanisms in place to be able to address new risks and we cannot afford to have a weak link in the chain,” Minister Loustau-Lalanne stated.
SS Payet further noted that the perspectives of each of the different entities are also crucial when it came to defending Seychelles’ Mutual Evaluation Report.
It was during the 38th Task Force of Senior officials meeting that Seychelles defended its 2nd Mutual Evaluation Report adopted in September 2018.