On March 18, the members of the Interagency Coordination Committee (ICC), chaired by the Governor of the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) Dr Priscilla Muthoora Thakoor, including the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Supervisors and the Attorney General’s Office, have signed an Amended Memorandum of Cooperation.
The Amended Memorandum, which was signed at the seat of the BoM, builds on the initial Memorandum of Cooperation, signed on August 26, 2020, under which the ICC was established for, inter alia, the optimal implementation of the AML/CFT regime in Mauritius and to combat Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation.
The Amended Memorandum marks a significant step in strengthening the existing collaborative framework and further streamlining coordination among supervisory and enforcement bodies. Moreover, the ICC welcomed a new member – the Registrar of Co-operative societies (ROCS), which is the supervisory authority for cooperative credit unions registered under the Co-Operatives Act.
The Amended Memorandum further makes provision for other competent authorities to participate in the meetings of the ICC on an ad-hoc basis.
The Amended Memorandum reinforces the bond of trust and commitment between the AML/CFT supervisors to safeguard the integrity of the Mauritius Financial System, including the Financial Services, Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) and Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) sectors.
It also illustrates that all Members of the ICC, along with its three technical Sub-Committees, are fully committed to fulfilling their mandate and sustaining the effectiveness of the country’s national AML/CFT framework, especially in view of upcoming rounds of mutual evaluation.
The parties to the Amended Memorandum include: the Bank of Mauritius (BOM); the Attorney General’s Office (AGO); the Financial Services Commission (FSC); the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); the Registrar of Companies (ROC); the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA); the Registration of Associations (ROA); the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants (MIPA), and the Registrar of Co-Operative Societies (ROCS)
At the signing of the Amended Memorandum, the Governor of the Bank of Mauritius and Chairperson of the ICC has underscored the importance of all Members of the ICC to ‘work as a team and foster synergy among our institutions to demonstrate effectiveness in enhancing our AML/CFT framework’ and emphasized that coordination and collaboration are essential components in this ongoing journey.
