Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch has welcomed the delisting of the North African country from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “Grey List” saying the removal offers new opportunities for the nation.
The Financial Action Task Force decision to remove Morocco from its “Grey List” is likely to have a positive impact on the country’s ability to access international funding, according to a statement by the government ahead of the FATF decision.
On Friday, the FATF announced its decision to remove Morocco from its “grey list,” indicating that the country no longer is being monitored by the watchdog for potential money laundering, proliferation financing, or terrorist financing.
The country’s position on the list meant that it was not considered a “high risk jurisdiction,” which currently includes North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, but instead was subject to increased FATF monitoring while it had “committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes.”
Morocco’s place on the grey list was seen by many experts as controversial by itself, especially after the Basel Institute on Governance in 2021 marked Morocco’s improved efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, while much of the global community saw its performance fall.
After significant efforts by the Moroccan government the FATF has now removed it from its grey list, which comes ahead of Moroccan plans to issue new bonds in dollars. The office of Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch highlighted the positive impacts of the delisting in a statement.
The decision “will positively impact the sovereign and local bank ratings in addition to improving Morocco’s image and its position in negotiations with international financial institutions as well as fostering trust of foreign investors,” the statement indicated.
It added that the FATF decision “will strengthen Morocco’s image and its positioning in negotiations with international financial institutions, as well as the confidence of foreign investors in the national economy.”
According to a recent piece by compliance and anti-financial crime-oriented outlet AML, Morocco’s renewed warm relations with Spain played an instrumental role in achieving compliance with FATF requirements that led to the country’s delisting.
