Uganda Hosts the 49th ESAAMLG Task Force of Senior Officials Meeting
The Republic of Uganda hosted the 49th Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) Task Force of Senior Officials meeting from 28th March to 4th April 2025 at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
The meeting was officially opened by the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja on behalf of the President.
The President in his remarks applauded ESAAMLG for their role in fostering regional cooperation, supporting capacity building, and ensuring compliance with international standards, particularly those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He said participation in these regional efforts is a testament of the collective resolve to strengthen financial integrity, combat illicit financial flows and safeguard the regional economies from harmful effects of money laundering and terrorism financing which pose direct threats to our national security, economic stability, and development.
“If left unchecked, these illicit activities have the potential to undermine trust in financial systems, discourage investment and support criminal networks that destabilize our societies,” said the President.
President Museveni commended ESAAMLG for its contribution towards the removal of Uganda from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring by FATF (grey list), adding that Uganda remains fully committed to supporting regional and global initiatives to build a safer and more transparent financial system.
The Minister of State for General Duties, Henry Musasizi who represented Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, said the removal of Uganda from the grey list in 2024 was as a result of satisfactory implementation of all the deficiencies in the Anti-money laundering/Combating Financing of terrorism legal, regulatory and operational regime.
The Chairperson of the Taskforce of Senior officials and Director of Supervision, National Bank of Ethiopia, Frezer Ayalew thanked the Government of Uganda for hosting the meeting.
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi, also the head of Uganda’s delegation said the challenges in combating financial crimes are growing in complexity and scale due to misuse of emerging technologies and the cross-border nature of illicit financial flows.
ESAAMLG is a regional body established in 1999 to subscribe to global standards to combat Money Laundering (ML), Terrorism Financing (TF), and Proliferation Financing (PF) of weapons of mass destruction. It consists of 21 Member Countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. It also includes several regional and international observers and Cooperating Nations. Uganda is a founding member state of ESAAMLG.
ESAAMLG is a FATF-Style Regional Body (FSRB) for countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. FATF is an inter-governmental body responsible for setting international standards and promoting the effective implementation of legal, regulatory, and operational measures for combatting money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
Each ESAAMLG Member Country is required to host both the Task Force of Senior Officials and Council of Ministers’ meetings.
Benefits of the Meeting
The meeting provided an opportunity for delegates to discuss several issues relevant to the implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards, including assessing the level of implementation by ESAAMLG member countries, discussion of country progress reports and requests for re-ratings and emerging ML/TF threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
Uganda, like other ESAAMLG Member States, has undertaken significant steps to combat financial crimes by strengthening its legal frameworks, enhancing regulatory oversight, and working closely with regional and international counterparts to exchange intelligence and best practices.
These financial crimes are not confined to national borders; they are transnational threats that demand regional and global collaboration. Criminal networks exploit weaknesses in financial systems to move illicit funds across borders, undermining economic growth, fueling corruption, and funding terrorism.
Recent reports indicate that Africa is losing billions of dollars annually due to illicit financial flows, with organized crime, corruption, and tax evasion as significant contributors. Though FATF and FATF-Style Regional Bodies like ESAAMLG continue to push for stronger Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting Financing of Terrorism (CFT) measures, criminals are continuously adapting their methods.
Terrorist groups and organized criminal networks continue to finance their activities through illegal trade, drug trafficking, and exploitation of weak regulatory frameworks. Strengthening compliance with global standards like the FATF Standards and enhancing collaboration with law enforcement agencies remain at the forefront of ESAAMLG priorities.