By Rungano Dzikira
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development says that results of the second National Risk Assessment report indicate that the assessed value of threat proceeds during the period 2014-2018 is estimated at US$4.5 billion dollars.
Speaking while officially launching the 2nd National Risk Assessment report (NRA II) on money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation financing, in Harare, this Monday, Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube said that this report came at an opportune time when the country is working towards complying with the international standards on Money Laundering and trying to mitigate identified risks.
“Results of the assessment indicate that the assessed value of threat proceeds during the period 2014-2018 is estimated at US$4.5 billion dollars, giving an annual average of US$900 million per year, down from the US$1.8 billion figure in the last NRA in 2015,” he said.
The improvement was attributed to improved gold collection strategies (from 6 tons to 24 tons per annum), the improved security arrangements in Chiadzwa diamond area, among others.
“Demand for imports also experienced a downward trend from 2014 to 2018. Furthermore, improved accounting led to the narrowing of the gap between exports and imports to US$1.3 billion, compared US$2.6 billion in the last NRA of 2015,” he said.
The NRA report will therefore seek to guide deployment of resources towards fighting higher risk areas, such as smuggling, illegal dealing in minerals and corruption, among other criminal activities identified in the report.
The launch comes at a critical time, when the country is working towards complying with the international standards on Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/PF) body, the FATF, the Global Network and the regional body (ESAAMLG) in ensuring that the country identifies, assesses and understands its money laundering and terrorist financing risks in its country.
In order to address the challenges outlined in the Second NRA Report, Government is said to have come up with the Third National Anti-Money Laundering, Combating Finance of Terrorism and Countering the Financing of Proliferation Strategic Plan, which will cover the period 2020 to 2025.
