Anti-Money Laundering: Algeria Added to Gafi’s “Grey List”
The Gafi, the international financial action group tasked with combating money laundering and terrorist financing, has recently classified Algeria among the jurisdictions “under enhanced surveillance,” commonly known as the “grey list.”
An article in the government newspaper Horizons highlighted Algeria’s efforts in this area, detailing the measures taken and the progress made in combating money laundering.
During a plenary meeting held on October 25 in Paris, Algeria was added to the updated list alongside countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Lebanon, and Angola.
Currently, twenty-four countries are under enhanced surveillance, while the “blacklist” remains unchanged, containing three states: Iran, Myanmar, and North Korea.
This meeting brought together representatives from over 200 members of the global network as well as international organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank, the UN, and Interpol.
Elisa de Anda Madrazo, the Gafi chair, clarified that a country’s inclusion on this list is not a punitive measure but aims to guide the concerned nations toward improving their systems. She acknowledged that these countries actively collaborate with their respective regional bodies and the Gafi to develop an action plan.
Regarding Algeria’s efforts in combating money laundering, Horizons reported that the country has already made significant progress and maintains proactive cooperation with the Gafi, continually improving its framework for tackling this issue.
The Gafi has praised Algeria’s efforts since the adoption of its Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) in May 2023, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of recommended actions, from 74 to just 13.
Algeria has implemented an action plan to combat money laundering and will continue to work with the Gafi for its implementation, notably adopting new procedures, risk assessments, and manuals.
The country is committed to fulfilling this action plan “within the stipulated deadlines, if not earlier,” the article states.
Additionally, the Algerian newspaper notes that detailed roadmaps are being developed by the National Risk Assessment Committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance and encompassing all relevant sectors.
Alongside the action plan, Algeria has also developed a national strategy for combating money laundering and terrorist financing for the period 2024-2026.
