Ghana will be off EU’s blacklist by end of 2020 – Deputy Finance Minister

Deputy Finance Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng has hinted that Ghana will, by the end of 2020, be removed from the European Union’s (EU’s) crimes watch list.

According to him, the government together with his outfit have already taken steps to ensure that the country’s name is cleared off the blacklist.

He said Ghana has already received convincing responses from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), whose study formed the basis of the EU’s decision to blacklist 12 countries, including Ghana.

In an interaction with JoyNews Kwaku Kwarteng is quoted to have said “…They have issued a statement saying that we are on course, in respect of the action plan, and so I can give assurance on behalf of the government that by the close of the year, we would have completed the action plan that we jointly developed with FATF. And once we get off their observation, the EU will automatically delist us.”

The Deputy Finance Minister also revealed that Ghana was placed under the Financial Action Task Force scrutiny in 2019.

His comments are on the back of a recent directive from the ING Bank which ordered Ghana’s Embassy in Belgium to withdraw funds and close all accounts by November 12, 2020.

Ghana together with three other African countries – Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Botswana – were blacklisted by the EU over money laundering claims and financial malfeasance by some individuals and groups.

Other blacklisted countries included; Jamaica, Nicaragua, Bahamas, Barbados Mongolia, Myanmar, Panama and Cambodia.