The National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Policy has been officially launched in Lilongwe.

The initiative aims to enhance Malawi’s efforts in safeguarding its financial system by bolstering the legal, institutional, regulatory, and operational frameworks to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation.

Speaking during the launch, Minister of Finance, Simplex Chithyola Banda, said the policy reflects government’s commitment in enhancing integrity of the country’s financial system and on overall protecting the country’s wealth.

“This policy will guide Malawi in combating financial crimes and ensuring the integrity of our financial system. It aligns with international standards and reflects our commitment to tackling money laundering and terrorist financing,” said Chithyola Banda.

In her remarks, Director General of Financial Intelligence Authority, Jean Priminta said her organisation will work with all relevant key stakeholders to ensure adherence of the policy.

“This policy is a significant milestone for Malawi in its fight against financial crimes. It addresses key weaknesses identified in previous assessments and ensures our compliance with international standards. We will collaborate with a key stakeholders to ensure all players are adhering to the policy, ” said Priminta.

According to the Financial Intelligence Authority the policy emphasises the importance of preventing, detecting, and combating financial crimes, and strengthening investigations, prosecutions, and the recovery of proceeds from these crimes. Currently, the authority is doing an assessment on the levels of money laundering.