Maputo, Oct. 29, 2025 (Lusa) - The European Union (EU) acknowledged on Wednesday Mozambique's efforts over the last three years that culminated in its removal from the international money laundering "grey list", saying that the country will also be removed from the European list.
"Following the removal of Mozambique from the FATF list, the EU confirms that it has no additional requirements for the removal of the country from its own list of high-risk third countries. As soon as the necessary EU procedural steps are finalised, Mozambique will also be removed from the EU list," according to a statement from the European Union delegation in Maputo, sent to Lusa.
The plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) proclaimed Mozambique's removal from the international money laundering "grey list" on 24 October in Paris, three years after its inclusion, an official Mozambican source told Lusa.
"Confirmed. At 09:30 (08:30 in Lisbon) today, the FATF plenary, by unanimous vote of all the organisations and countries, removed Mozambique from the grey list," said the national coordinator for the removal of Mozambique from that list, Luís Abel Cezerilo, adding that the decision to leave was approved with the recommendation that the country “work” on "improving risk mapping".
In the same position released today, the EU welcomes the decision and "congratulates the Government of Mozambique for the significant efforts made to respond to the points" of the action plan defined with that international institution, "contributing to strengthening its framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing".
"As co-chair of Mozambique's National Technical Assistance Coordination Committee, the EU commends all the national institutions, organisations and professionals who have worked hard over the last three years to achieve this important result," the statement said.
The EU ambassador to Mozambique, Antonino Maggiore, recognised that Mozambique's efforts "prove the strong commitment" of the country "to go beyond its FATF action plan and continue to improve its system" in its fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, serving as an example in the region.
"We look forward to continued fruitful cooperation with Mozambique in these matters, continuing the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing," added Maggiore, quoted in the EU position.
The EU says it supports Mozambique's efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing with "a combination of global, regional and bilateral programmes", including a project funded by the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
"This support focused on the de-listing process, i.e. strengthening the national framework in several areas, including statistics, beneficial ownership, regulation of the real estate, casino and gambling sectors, capacity building for judges, prosecutors and investigators, and terrorist financing. The EU remains committed to supporting Mozambique's continued progress in promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in its financial system," the statement concluded.
Mozambique had been on the FATF's international money laundering "grey list" since 2022. Still, the government announced in the middle of this year that it had already complied with all the recommendations for its withdrawal and that the aim was to ensure, after the withdrawal, that the status would be maintained in future assessments.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
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