South Africa Takes Over Leadership Of FATF

by Robert Lee, for LawAndTax-News.com, London

04 July 2005

Speaking to reporters last week, South African Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel revealed that South Africa has assumed the presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) from France.

He further announced that Professor Kader Asmal has been appointed to represent South Africa in this position.

According to Mr Manuel, South Africa’s Presidency of the FATF has obligations to deliver effectively on those areas of ongoing work that are important to the FATF. These areas of work will include:

• Increasing co-operation between FATF and its regional bodies and providing clarity on this relationship;
• Increasing engagement by the FATF with the private sector;
• Seeking to introduce into areas of FATF work, initiatives that are important to developing nations such as South Africa;
• Seeking to align the FATF Recommendations with international conventions on corruption;
• Understanding better the relationship of trafficking of women and children to money laundering practices; and
• Looking at issues of the sustainability of the secretariat in view of the increased workload and extension of FATF’s mandate.

South Africa will host a major meeting of the FATF early in 2006, to which the countries in the region who are members of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) will be invited. The ESAAMLG is the FATF regional body, consisting of fourteen countries in the region.

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