2024-03-21
The Bank of Angola issued Circular Letter No. 02/2024 to implement the Financial Action Task Force's February 2024 plenary outcomes, mandating financial institutions to apply targeted countermeasures and enhanced due diligence across updated high-risk, grey-listed, and newly monitored jurisdictions. The directive requires institutions to limit or terminate business relationships, strengthen correspondent banking, and report atypical transactions for countries under countermeasures like North Korea and Iran, while adapting enhanced due diligence specifically to the Union of Myanmar. Furthermore, it mandates proportional risk-based monitoring for jurisdictions under continuous FATF review and confirms the removal of Barbados, Gibraltar, Uganda, and the UAE from active monitoring, with all measures taking effect upon publication.
CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 02/2024 SUBJECT: FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Considering the need to protect the international financial system from risks associated with Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held a plenary session from 21 to 23 February 2024, with the objective of defining prevention and interruption policies for financial flows that underpin crime and terrorism. It is important to highlight the disclosure of the following documents:
CONTINUATION OF CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 02/2024 page 2 of 5 2. JURISDICTIONS SUBJECT TO A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT OF ASSOCIATED RISKS A new category has been included, which can be consulted at the link: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Call-for-action-february-2024.html, which lists the Union of Myanmar.
JURISDICTIONS UNDER CONTINUOUS MONITORING The document identifies jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in ML/TF that have developed an action plan to address them and are subject to a monitoring process by the FATF. This does not call for the application of enhanced due diligence measures to the jurisdictions in question; however, it encourages all jurisdictions to consider the status of the countries listed here when conducting their risk analyses. The Countries included in the situation described in this point, also known as the Grey List, as well as the status of their systems for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, are indicated on the FATF website and can be consulted via the following link: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Increased-monitoring-february-2024.html, namely: Burkina Faso, Haiti, Yemen, Jamaica, Mali, Philippines, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Mozambique, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Croatia, Vietnam, Kenya, and Namibia.
JURISDICTIONS THAT HAVE CEASED TO BE SUBJECT TO CONTINUOUS FATF MONITORING. The document identifies jurisdictions that, having fulfilled their action plan, have been removed from the so-called "Grey List", ceasing to be under quarterly monitoring by the FATF. The Countries included in the situation described in this point are indicated on the FATF website and can be consulted via the following link: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Increased-monitoring-february-2024.html, namely: Barbados, Gibraltar, Uganda, and United Arab Emirates.
PROCEDURES AND MEASURES ADOPTED BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Taking into account the content of the documents produced by the FATF and within the framework of the information dissemination duty to which supervisory authorities are bound under Article 55 of Law No. 5/20, dated 27 January – (Law on the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction), the Bank of Angola hereby directs the following:
a) To Countries or Jurisdictions in the situation described in number 1 of this circular letter and indicated on the FATF website: i) Considering the existence of a very high risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, it is determined, in accordance with Article 28(2) of Law No. 5/20 dated 27 January, the adoption of countermeasures proportional to those risks; ii) The countermeasures to be applied by Financial Institutions may include, among others, the following: a. Limit business relationships or financial operations with the identified country or persons in those countries; apply specific elements of enhanced due diligence measures; b. Strengthen existing communication or information transmission mechanisms, notably through the request for additional information; c. Introduce relevant reporting mechanisms or declarations of atypical financial transactions; d. Condition the establishment of subsidiaries, branches, representative offices, or other establishments on compliance with additional requirements; e. Prohibit the establishment of branches or representative offices in countries subject to countermeasures, or otherwise consider that the branch or representative office in question is located in a country that lacks adequate ML/TF/P mechanisms; f. Limit business relationships or operations with a given territory or persons from that territory; g. Prohibit the use of third parties located in a given territory, even when that territory is not qualified as a high-risk third country; h. Oblige Institutions to review, modify, or, if necessary, terminate correspondent relationships with entities from a given territory; i. Strengthen supervisory procedures for branches and subsidiaries of entities headquartered in a given territory; j. Strengthen group supervisory procedures regarding their branches and subsidiaries located in a given territory; k. Strengthen risk management and audit procedures of entities operating in a given territory; and l. Limit business relationships or financial operations with the identified countries or persons in those countries.
b) Enhanced due diligence measures, in accordance with Article 28(1) of Law No. 5/20 dated 27 January, shall be adapted and carefully examined for all business relationships, occasional transactions, and operations involving the Union of Myanmar; c) If deemed insufficient, enhanced due diligence measures applied or to be applied may lead to the decision not to initiate or to terminate business relationships or transactions; d) To Countries or Jurisdictions in the situation described in point 3 of this circular letter and indicated on the FATF website, enhanced due diligence measures shall be applied that are proportional to the specifically identified risk, in accordance with Article 14 of Law No. 5/20 dated 27 January.
Supplementary information regarding the conclusions of the FATF Plenary Meeting may be obtained on the official FATF website at the following link: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-february-2024.html