from HANSLEY NABAB in Port Louis, Mauritius
PORT LOUIS, (CAJ News) – MAURITIUS is determined to win a test of integrity following its unenviable rating as a high risk jurisdiction for money laundering and terror funding.
The government is eager to remove the country from the European Commission blacklist as well as create highly effective Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.
The Indian Ocean island country appears a victim of its own popularity as a financial haven for the region’s wealthy individuals while several companies have for years registered their subsidiaries in Mauritius because of the country’s favourable tax regime.
In Mauritius, corporate and export taxes are 15 percent and three percent, respectively.
Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, said government was committed to removing Mauritius from the European Commission blacklist.
“The Financial Action Task Force monitoring list well ahead of schedule,” he assured.
Recently, the Financial Services Institute, the Global Finance Mauritius and the Human Resource Development Council recently organized a training initiative focused on a Risk Based Approach to Anti-Money laundering and Combating the financing of terrorism.
Some 225 professionals from the designated non-financial business and professions (DNFBPs) graduated.
An additional 955 participants will commence the training soon.
Seeruttun said collaborative efforts would create highly effective AML/CFT regimes.
“It is only with a strong engagement and by standing together that we shall be successful in our resolve of promoting financial integrity for the benefit of all,” Seeruttun said.
He said DNFBPs professionals played a key role in AML/CFT obligations by identifying suspicious activity and submitting suspicious activity reports.
Soodesh Satkam Callichurn, the Human Resource Development and Training minister, highlighted the importance of training, learning and skill development.
“For enterprises, it is imperative to gain up-to-date skills which are essential to stay competitive in the local and global marketplace,” he said.
In May, the EU placed Mauritius on its list of high-risk countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks.
– CAJ News