An official ceremony was organised on Tuesday morning, at the FSC House in Ebène, in the context of a training workshop on Targeted Financial Sanctions and Supervision aiming to improve effectiveness of the Anti-Money Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Framework held for officers of supervisory and law enforcement authorities from 15 June to 20 June 2023.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Sarwansingh Purmessur; the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Mrs Hemlata Sadhna Sewraj-Gopal; the British High Commissioner to Mauritius, Ms Charlotte Pierre; and the Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Mr Dhanesswurnath Thakoor, were present.
The training is an initiative of the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance in collaboration with His Majesty’s Treasury of United Kingdom (UK), the National Sanction Secretariat and the Inter-Agency Coordination Committee (ICC).
In his address, Mr Purmessur highlighted Government’s commitment to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other forms of financial crime. He spoke of the measures that have been taken such as the National Risk Assessment with the assistance of the World Bank to develop targeted strategies, and an independent assessment to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the current AML/CFT system.
In addition, he said, a new set of legislative amendments to reinforce the existing AML/CFT/Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) legal framework and ensure its compliance with international standards, has been brought.
He expressed gratitude to the British High Commission for its pivotal role in further consolidating the AML/CFT Framework and supporting Mauritius with technical assistance in its fight against money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.
For her part, Mrs Sewraj-Gopal stated that the ICC was created to ensure effective implementation of the AML/CFT measures and promote collaboration and coordination among member agencies. She observed that capacity building of officers is essential to help them gain a better understanding of the AML/CFT Framework and carry out their duties efficiently.
As for Ms Pierre, she underlined the importance of promoting dialogue and exchange programmes between Mauritius and the UK. She reiterated the UK’s commitment to assist Mauritius in ensuring a robust and strong financial system to support mutual prosperity, fight back terrorism financing, and promote economic resilience.
Mr Thakoor, for his part, indicated that the implementation of targeted financial sanctions and supervision forms part of the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations 6 and 7 to comply with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. It is important to put in place appropriate legal framework and ensure international standards for a more conductive environment to better prevent and suppress terrorism financing, he added.
