Luanda: Angola has made significant progress in meeting the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), with two recommendations now considered largely met, Fausta Muzumbi, Director General of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), announced in Luanda on Wednesday. Speaking to the press on the sidelines of a workshop on public-private dialogue regarding the role of the media in the national system for preventing and combating money laundering-an event organized by the FIU-she explained that the country has completed its National Risk Assessment and the corresponding sectoral assessments, which are considered key steps in the action plan agreed upon with the FATF.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the national strategy focuses on exiting the "grey list" and consolidating mechanisms that ensure institutional technical compliance and prevent a return to the enhanced monitoring process. Fausta Muzumbi emphasized that achieving this goal depends on the joint commitment of national institutions and the consolidation of a culture dedicated to preventing and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
As part of the Financial Intelligence Unit's (FIU) efforts to engage more closely with the public, Fausta Muzumbi announced that communication and awareness-raising activities targeting journalists and the general public would be stepped up. This will involve the periodic release of updates on the implementation status of measures adopted by the country to comply with international recommendations.
Meanwhile, the FIU's Deputy Director-General, Ant³nio dos Santos, emphasized the importance of information sharing among institutions within the national system for preventing and combating money laundering, as well as the need for enhanced training for technical staff and focal points responsible for institutional coordination. Regarding suspicious transaction reports, he noted that the institution receives a significant volume of information, which is continuously processed through existing monitoring mechanisms. However, he stressed that a suspicious transaction does not necessarily imply the commission of a money laundering offense.
The Deputy Director reiterated that Angola remains under enhanced monitoring and expressed confidence in the outcome of ongoing measures, highlighting the national authorities' commitment to ensuring compliance with international recommendations and securing the country's removal from the FATF "grey list." Angola's placement on the FATF's enhanced monitoring list followed a 2021 visit by the international body's inspectors, who identified 87 deficiencies in the country's system for preventing and combating money laundering. Of these, the country had resolved 70 by 2025 and is working to address the remaining issues within a short timeframe.
In the FATF's latest review on October 24, 2025, the organization assessed reports from several African countries that have been in this status longer than Angola-notably South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The workshop on public-private dialogue regarding the role of the media in the national system for preventing and combating money laundering marked the beginning of a strategy for greater interaction between the FIU and the media, aimed at improving public understanding of the institution's mission and challenges.
