National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Money Laundering

On April 3, 2023, the Council of Ministers approved Decree Law No. 24/2023, which regulates the National Strategy to Prevent and Combat  Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The Republic of Cape Verde, as a Member State of the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), has been working together and receiving continuous support from this Institution and other partners, namely the International Financial Action Group (FATF), in order to be in technical compliance with the recommendations regarding the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering (LC), the Financing of Terrorism (FT), and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (FP) .

In 2019, the Mutual Evaluation Report (RAM) of the Republic of Cape Verde, carried out by the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), was adopted. The RAM established key recommendations to improve the technical compliance and effectiveness of the country’s LC/FT/FP devices, including the need to prepare and approve a National Strategy to prevent said crimes.

It was in this sense that Cape Verde assumed the political commitment to fully comply with its obligations towards the international community in terms of LC/FT/FP matters, pledging to make every effort and take the necessary steps to prevent and to combat these harmful phenomena for economic development and to guarantee peace, security and justice in the country.

Therefore, in collaboration with other partners at the national level, the Interministerial Commission created by Resolution nº 13/2020, of January 27, requested technical assistance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to prepare a National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (ENCAVE), with its presentation and validation taking place at the beginning of this year, moving away from one of the weaknesses identified in the RAM of 2019.

OBJECTIVE OF ECNAVE

The National Strategy for the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Cape Verde, referred to in short as ECNAVE, aims to:

• Sensitize public and private institutions in the country and the general public about the risks of LC/FT/FP, as well as their mitigation, to which Cape Verdean financial and non-financial systems are exposed;
• Strengthen regulatory framework and effective enforcement risk-based approach;
• Provide all national actors who work in the area of preventing and fighting CL/FT/FP with a common framework for reforms and improvements to be carried out in order to strengthen the Institutional and Legislative framework, national coordination and international cooperation;
• Coordinate the strategic and operational performance of public bodies and agents of the Cape Verdean State in the fight against Money Laundering, the financing of terrorism and proliferation;
• Enhance the use of databases and public registers in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation;
• Expand international cooperation in combating criminal activity and recovering illicitly produced assets;
• Develop a culture to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation in Cape Verde;.
• Prevent money laundering and terrorist and proliferation financing;

ECNAVE’S STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

ECNAVE’s strategic objectives are:

• New proposals and/or legislative or normative review.
• Database access and development.
• Institutional articulation.
• Qualification and training.
• Development of good practices.
• International action and cooperation.
• asset recovery.

ECNAVE aims to make national and international coordination and cooperation more effective in the fight against LC/FT/FP in order to remedy the deficiencies identified in the RAM and in the results of the National Risk Assessment (ANR) in the country.

For the implementation of this Strategy, actions are necessary to alert the main actors about the risks of LC/FT/FP and the specific vulnerabilities of each sector within the scope of their responsibilities, based on training initiatives and allocation of adequate resources for the full exercise of its functions, in order to promote better mobilization of bodies and institutions regarding their role in combating illicit financial flows and against the use of certain non-financial activities and professions for LC/FT/PF purposes.

IMPACTS, IMMEDIATE EFFECTS, EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE MEASURES

With the adoption of the measures foreseen in the Strategy, it is expected that Cape Verde will be able to overcome the shortcomings identified in the recent evaluations to which it was subject, making the legal, institutional and operational frameworks related to the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering to the Financing of Terrorism and to Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Cape Verde more effectively and in line with international standards and best practices.

Therefore, the Strategy will make it possible to assess the impact of LC/FT/FP bills, regulations or public policies in general and to understand the consequences and immediate results related to the proposal.

Because this exercise will be very useful for all the actions and other initiatives of the Strategy to be implemented.

ECNAVE’S VISION

ECNAVE contributes to the country being recognized internationally as a cooperative jurisdiction and an example in the implementation of the best international practices in the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, promoting the social well-being of its population.

ECNAVE’S MISSION

ECNAVE’s mission is to propose, discuss, coordinate, design and implement public policies, suited to the country’s capacity and reality, which are necessary to meet international and effective standards and recommendations in terms of Preventing and Combating Money Laundering by Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

In this sense, the decree intends to present priority actions aimed at improving the national mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of CL/FT/FP, through the National Strategy.