Following a highly successful evaluation of Mauritius' regime against Money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") removed Mauritius from the list of non-compliant jurisdictions on 21 October 2021. Shortly after, the United Kingdom also removed Mauritius from its list of high-risk countries under the UK Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 3) (high-risk countries) Regulations 2021. It was therefore only a matter of time before the European Union, who had placed Mauritius on its high-risk third countries based on the findings of the FAFT, also removed Mauritius from the EU Blacklist. This has now become a reality and on 07 January 2022, the European Commission removed Mauritius from the EU Blacklist by acknowledging that it no longer presents strategic deficiencies on the basis of the criteria laid down in its Directive (EU) 2015/849. The whitelisting by the FATF, the UK and now the EU goes a long way to demonstrate our commitment to improving the legal, regulatory and enforcement measures in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. With its removal from the EU Blacklist, Mauritius is now cleared from all international lists of non-compliant jurisdictions, and it spells a new dawn for the future of the Mauritius IFC.
Please click HERE to read the official communiqué issued on 12 January 2022 by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development and click HERE to read the European Commission Delegated Regulation.
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