Windhoek: Namibia amended nine laws, passed four new ones, and resolved 72 strategic deficiencies in its financial crime framework over approximately four years to secure its removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
According to Namibia Press Agency, this information was detailed in a Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) fact sheet released on Tuesday during a media briefing where Finance Minister Ericah Shafudah announced Namibia's exit from the grey list, effective 19 June 2026.
FIC Deputy Director responsible for Financial Investigations and Analysis, Gerrit Eiman, outlined that Namibia underwent its second mutual evaluation by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) from 2020 to 2021. The Mutual Evaluation Report, adopted by the ESAAMLG Council of Ministers on 22 September 2022, identified various deficiencies in the legal framework and 72 strategic deficiencies in implementing the anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing framework.
Eiman noted that during a 12-month observation period from October 2022 to October 2023, Namibia amended nine laws, passed four new laws, and resolved 59 of the 72 deficiencies. The remaining 13 deficiencies led to the grey listing in February 2024, with a FATF Action Plan issued with a deadline of May 2026.
A National Focal Committee, endorsed by the Cabinet and chaired by the FIC, spearheaded legislative reforms and reported progress to the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Council and Cabinet bi-monthly. Namibia submitted five progress reports to the FATF Joint Group between July 2024 and November 2025.
In February 2026, Namibia was found to have largely addressed all 13 action items and was recommended for an on-site assessment, which the FATF Africa Joint Group conducted in April 2026. The FATF announced Namibia's exit on 19 June 2026.
Eiman highlighted key areas of reform, including strengthening risk-based supervision of financial institutions, improving beneficial ownership information collection, increasing the capacity of law enforcement agencies to conduct financial investigations, and establishing coordinated structures to investigate and prosecute terrorism financing.
He emphasized that Namibia's exit was achieved ahead of the May 2026 deadline through a coordinated national effort involving the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Namibia, the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority, the Namibia Revenue Agency, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Namibia Police Force, and the Office of the Prosecutor-General, among others.
Eiman concluded by stating that the country would continue to sustain and strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework in preparation for the next mutual evaluation scheduled for 2030.