Ouagadougou: National actors in charge of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) began a 4-day training course on Tuesday on the methodology and procedure of mutual evaluation to consolidate the gains following Burkina Faso's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the training session is organized by the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering (GIABA), in collaboration with the National Financial Information Processing Unit (CENTIF), as part of the third cycle of mutual evaluations. The President of the coordination of LBC/FT activities, Sere Mamadou, highlighted that this workshop marks the first step in a rigorous process of assessing the national system for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
Reflecting on the significance of the training, Mamadou emphasized that it comes in a context marked by Burkina Faso's removal from the FATF grey list, representing the beginning of a phase to consolidate achievements and prevent any relapse. The representative of the Director General of GIABA, Karnon Lofigue, pointed out that the focus will shift from merely having legislative texts to ensuring they produce tangible results, stressing the importance of the effectiveness of systems.
Burkina Faso is the third country in the region, following Ghana and Senegal, to embark on this cycle. The process is driven by a risk-based approach, requiring the targeted mobilization of national resources towards the most significant threats. The President of the National Financial Information Processing Unit (CENTIF) and national correspondent of GIABA, Ms. Assata Diallo, highlighted the importance of technical preparation and the need to document and value actions effectively.
Ms. Diallo urged focal points to ensure the reliability and traceability of data, pointing out that each structure represented in the workshop holds information critical to the success of the process. To aid in this, CENTIF has developed information collection templates to be distributed among various institutions.
The agenda for the mutual evaluation has been clearly defined. The on-site visit by evaluation experts is scheduled for January 11 to 28, 2027. The final report, assessing the country's coordination and preparedness efforts, will be reviewed for adoption at the GIABA plenary meeting in November 2027.