The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its October plenary this week, and upon its conclusion on 21st October 2021, it was announced by the president of the FATF, Mr. Marcus Pleyer, that “after completing its action plan and a successful onsite visit by FATF team, Mauritius has been removed from the grey list”.
The decision taken at the October Plenary is an acknowledgement of the diligent effort that the public and private sector in Mauritius have shown in demonstrating their commitment to ensuring the Action Plan was implemented and upheld during the process.
Mauritius will continue to work with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) to further improve its AML/CFT systems while the Mauritian government have said they will continue to feature AML/CFT discussions on the agenda to further protect the integrity of their financial system.
In February 2020, Mauritius was placed on the FATF “grey list” of jurisdictions placed under increased monitoring due to strategic deficiencies identified in its AML/CFT processes. Mauritius immediately began putting measures in place to deal with its shortcomings and made a high-level commitment to implement the Action Plan with sustainable mechanisms to strengthen its AML/CFT system.
Mauritius exiting the grey list reinforces Mauritius’s position as an attractive jurisdiction with a conducive environment to conduct global business and will encourage an increase in foreign direct investment into the economy.
It is anticipated that the decision to remove Mauritius from the “grey list” will encourage the European Commission to review the FATF findings and to remove Mauritius from their blacklist.