The IMF said that at the beginning of the year it engaged the Zimbabwean authorities with a view to strengthening the country’s ability to fight money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism.
“In January 2011, the Executive Board saw significant merit in continuing regular staff visits and also decided to add public finance management and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism to the targeted areas for which the suspension of the Fund’s technical assistance had been lifted in May 2009,” the Fund announced last week.
The IMF has already been assisting Zimbabwe with the improvement of its tax policy and administration, payments systems, lender-of-last-resort operations, banking supervision and central banking governance and accounting. But due to its weak law enforcement and lax banking controls, Zimbabwe has been seen as a playground for money launderers, some of whom have links to international terrorist cells.
In one of the cases, the army-run Zimbabwe Defence Industries was last year alleged to be linked to an arms trafficking syndicate and money laundering activities involving rogue Ecuadorian bishop Walter Crespo and rebels of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionariasde Colombia.
FARC is a violent guerrilla organisation described as a terrorist group. It has been accused of kidnapping government officials and aid workers and recruiting child soldiers.
Meanwhile, the IMF said Zimbabwe was one of three countries in protracted overdue financial obligations to the Fund. The other countries are Sudan and Somalia.
Post published in: News