Following the conclusion of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary of October 2021 on the 21st of the same month, Marcus Pleyer, the President of FATF, announced that Mauritius has been removed from the organisation’s grey list. This follows the successful onsite visit by the FATF team and the completion of their action plan. 

This announcement is a welcome boost for Mauritius, given that the FATF, an intergovernmental policy body that establishes global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) standards and ensures their effective implementation in all jurisdictions, placed Mauritius on its “grey list” in February 2020. The “grey list” is a list of jurisdictions that have strategic flaws in their approach to AML/CFT and are being closely monitored by the FATF. As a result, the European Commission identified Mauritius and added it to the EU AML list of high-risk third countries (Black List). 

To improve the effectiveness of the AML/CFT measures and in accordance with Mauritius’ action plan, several national working groups were formed to address the deficiencies identified in the jurisdiction’s AML/CFT regime. Building on regulatory and policy announcements and following the work of the competent authorities in Mauritius, the FATF endorsed the substantial and expeditious progress made by Mauritius to consolidate the jurisdiction’s AML/CFT regime at its June 2021 Plenary Session. Mauritius was also classified as ‘Compliant’ or ‘Largely Compliant’ with 39 of the 40 FATF recommendations. The FATF delegation conducted an on-site inspection between September 13 and 15, 2021. 

Following the inspection, a Plenary Session was held from October 19 to 21, 2021, at which point it was announced that Mauritius had been removed from the FATF’s “grey list.” 

How Mauritius was removed from FATF Grey List 

The removal of Mauritius from the FATF’s “grey list” attests to a slew of bold policies and measures implemented by Mauritius in order to honour and adhere to the highest international standards in combating AML/CFT issues. This removal occurred as a result of Mauritius strengthening investigative authorities’ capacities to detect risk in medium and high-risk sectors, a significant increase in domestic and international cooperation, and appropriate efforts made by Mauritian authorities to investigate and prosecute money laundering. There has also been an improvement in the capacity of AML supervision of the global business sector, as well as adequate support for non-financial sector supervision. 

Encouragingly, the European Commission will now review available FATF information, and if confirmed, Mauritius will be removed from the Black List via a delegated act. 

This will re-establish Mauritius as a global leader in the financial services industry. In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020 report, Mauritius ranks first among African countries and 13th globally, and this removal/de-listing reinforces Mauritius’ position as a leading investment destination and domicile of choice for structuring cross-border investment into Africa and Asia. 

How Valsen Can Help 

The experienced staff of Valsen Fiduciaries Group and our global network allow us to provide high-quality services in several jurisdictions. We are at your disposal to help you take full advantage of Mauritius having been taken off the Grey List and its leading position in the Ease of Doing Business list in Africa. Please contact us through [email protected] or +248 2 525 217.