Africa is losing an estimated $88–90 million every year through illicit financial flows, highlighting the scale of the financial crime challenge facing governments across the continent as the 26th Council of Ministers meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) gets underway in Kigali.
The high-level meeting has brought together ministers, senior government officials and financial crime experts from Eastern and Southern Africa to strengthen regional efforts against money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The meeting is taking place against a backdrop of rapidly evolving financial systems, with criminals increasingly exploiting digital financial services, cross-border transactions, complex corporate structures and technological developments to conceal and transfer proceeds of crime.
Opening the meeting, President of the Senate Dr. François-Xavier Kalinda said the same financial systems driving economic growth could also create opportunities for criminal networks.
“The same systems that create opportunities can also be exploited by criminals and terrorist networks.”
Kalinda called for stronger regional cooperation, stressing that financial crime can no longer be effectively addressed by countries acting independently.
He said criminal networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, taking advantage of technological and financial innovations to move illicit funds across borders and hide the proceeds of criminal activities.
From technical compliance to real results
Outgoing Director General of Rwanda’s Financial Intelligence Centre, Gashumba Jeanne Pauline, said the financial crime environment is constantly changing, requiring governments and institutions to continuously strengthen their responses.
“Our response must therefore evolve with the threat.”
Gashumba said countries should move beyond simply putting laws, regulations and institutions in place and instead demonstrate whether their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems are actually delivering results.
The meeting is being held under the theme “From Technical Compliance to Demonstrable Outcomes: Strengthening Effective AML/CFT/CPF Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.”
According to Gashumba, effectiveness should be measured through tangible outcomes such as stronger financial intelligence, successful investigations and prosecutions, recovery of criminal assets and the disruption of criminal networks.
She also emphasized the need for countries to strengthen measures targeting terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Rwanda urges stronger regional cooperation
Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yusuf Murangwa, said Rwanda has made progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing systems, while acknowledging that challenges remain.
Murangwa said the Kigali meeting provides member states with an opportunity to assess progress, identify gaps and agree on practical measures to improve the effectiveness of their systems.
“Our focus should not only be on technical compliance, but also on effectiveness—whether our systems are actually preventing criminals from benefiting from illicit proceeds.”
The minister highlighted the importance of financial intelligence, cross-border cooperation and adequate resources for law enforcement and supervisory authorities.
He also pointed to the private sector, particularly banks and other financial institutions, as a critical partner in detecting suspicious transactions and preventing the misuse of financial systems.
Following the money
A major focus of the discussions is expected to be the need to follow the money behind organized crime rather than concentrating only on individual offenders.
Authorities are expected to examine ways of improving the tracing, freezing, confiscation and recovery of criminal assets, as well as strengthening cooperation between financial intelligence units, police, customs, tax authorities and prosecutors.
The growing use of mobile money, digital payments, virtual assets and other emerging financial technologies is also expected to feature prominently in discussions, as regulators seek to keep pace with new methods criminals can use to move illicit funds.
Another key issue is beneficial ownership transparency, which enables authorities to identify the individuals who ultimately own or control companies and other legal structures that may be used to hide illicit wealth.
A cross-border challenge
Illicit financial flows frequently cross multiple jurisdictions. Funds generated through criminal activities in one country can be transferred through several others before being concealed, invested or integrated into the legitimate economy.
This makes regional cooperation essential.
For ESAAMLG member states, the challenge is therefore not simply to adopt international standards but to ensure that those standards translate into effective enforcement and measurable results.
The Kigali meeting is expected to consider a number of issues, including the Mutual Evaluation Report on Burundi, progress under the second round of mutual evaluations and preparations for the third round of evaluations.
As ministers deliberate, the central question will be whether Eastern and Southern African countries can move from technical compliance to demonstrable outcomes and strengthen their collective ability to trace illicit money, recover criminal assets and disrupt the networks that profit from financial crime.
