The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organisation established by the countries under G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States) countries have pressured President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government to take serious action against money laundering in the country.
The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d’action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
Sources told theGrapevine that Uganda is currently placed on the grey list and if nothing is done by the end of 2022, it will be financially blacklisted.
When the Grapevine did further investigations, we discovered that Uganda is currently on the grey list with; Albania, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Jordan, Haiti, Malta, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
“When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring. This list is often externally referred to as the “grey list”,” a statement from FATF website reads.
When a country is listed on the grey list, it is one step away from being blacklisted by FATF.
FATF also accuses Uganda of accommodating criminals who generate a lot of money from gold dealings yet we are not known as a leading gold mining country.
Sources added that much of the gold from Uganda, which is on the international market is smuggled from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) illegally.
Sources revealed that the American government based on FATF recommendations to sanction African Gold Refinery boss Alain Goetz.
“There risks Uganda will face if blacklisted. They include being booted from the Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). If we are kicked out, it will further hurt the economy because blacklisted countries are subject to economic sanctions and other prohibitive measures by FATF member states and international organizations,” a source said.
He added that once Uganda is blacklisted, it will not be allowed to use the dollar in any of their transactions.
“Once you are stopped from trading using the Dollar, other major currencies may follow suit,” the source divulged.
Sources further revealed that when Museveni was threatened by FATF, he instructed his men in intelligence to investigate how money laundering is being carried out in Uganda and it was established that it was partly being carried out through the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs).
This is the reason why many of them were suspended and re-audited.
Sources added that it is also the reason why security has been frequently arresting artificial tycoons like Masaka based businessman Emmanuel Lwasa Kaweesa on allegations of dealing in fake gold.
Sources explained that because businessmen dealing in money laundering use international banks, government was recently forced to pressurise World Remit, a digital payments service provider to explain how their business is run.
It is alleged that World Remit could not reveal their business dealings, that is why they decided to quit the country.
It is also the reason why some International financial institutions like Afriland First Bank have started quitting.
Sources disclosed that because of the pressure that Museveni has put on banks, many commercial banks’ bosses are quitting their positions to avoid the eventualities that include prosecution over money laundering once the big man starts cleaning his house.
Sources unveiled that Museveni was also very surprised to learn that Bank of Uganda is not monitoring some international banks which are operating in the country and they are not briefed on the international transactions they make.
Museveni further established that even some of the operatives he deployed in commercial banks to spy on the banks’ transactions were compromised and ended up being bribed.
By Sengooba Alirabaki
