By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, November 3 (Radarr Africa) – The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, ending a stint of about four years, according to a CNBC Africa report published on October 30 and updated on November 2.
The country was added to the list in October 2022 over deficiencies in its framework for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, the report said. The FATF said the DRC completed all 23 actions in its reform plan, according to CNBC Africa.
The report gave figures for the enforcement work behind the decision. It said that between October 2022 and December 2025, the national financial intelligence unit, CENAREF, the tax authority, ARCA, and the Central Bank of Congo carried out about 540 off-site and on-site inspections. Authorities brought nearly 100 prosecutions out of 246 investigations into money laundering and terrorist financing offences. Seized and confiscated assets were valued at about $46.75 million.
Finance Minister Doudou Roussel Fwamba Likunde Li-Botayi described the exit as “a milestone for the integrity of our financial system”, the report said. CNBC Africa noted that President Félix Tshisekedi’s administration is pursuing anti-money laundering measures.
The government expects practical benefits. According to the report, these include lower cross-border transaction costs for Congolese banks and businesses, better correspondent banking relationships and stronger investor confidence. The report presented these as the benefits the government expects to follow from the removal.
The minister said reforms will continue, including risk-based supervision and asset recovery, CNBC Africa reported.
The FATF is an intergovernmental body established by the G7 that sets global standards against financial crime, the report explained. Countries placed on its grey list are under increased monitoring while they address identified weaknesses.
The Congolese exit required the completion of every action in a 23-point plan over roughly four years, according to the report.
The figures in the report show the scale of the supervisory effort. About 540 inspections over a little more than three years works out to roughly 13 inspections a month on average, and the roughly 100 prosecutions from 246 investigations imply that about two in five investigations led to a prosecution. The report did not say how many of those prosecutions have ended in convictions, and it did not say how the $46.75 million in seized and confiscated assets was divided between seizures and final confiscations.
The report did not give a date for the FATF announcement itself or say which FATF meeting took the decision. It was written by Godfrey Mutizwa for CNBC Africa, with a photograph credited to Reuters.
