Uganda Celebrates Removal from FATF Grey List
Frank Semata 
Minister for Finance, Planning, and Economic Development,
Uganda is rejoicing over its removal from the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) "Grey List".
The decision, made during the FATF plenary meetings held in Paris from February 19th to 23rd, 2024, marks a pivotal moment for the country's financial integrity and international standing.
Uganda's journey began in February 2020 when it was placed on the grey list due to deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering/Combatting Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
With 22 action plan items laid out by FATF to address these shortcomings, Uganda faced the risk of being blacklisted, potentially crippling its financial sector and hindering international transactions.
However, Uganda's steadfast commitment and concerted efforts bore fruit as it successfully implemented all action plan items, leading to its removal from the grey list.
Minister of Finance, Planning and economic development, Matia Kasaija emphasized the benefits this achievement unlocks for Uganda's economy.
"With increased investor confidence, reduced business costs, and enhanced global reputation, Uganda can now seamlessly engage with international markets and credit, bolstering its socio-economic transformation efforts." He noted in a statement.
"Uganda pledges to sustain its progress through a comprehensive post-grey list strategy, including continuous review of its legal framework and capacity-building initiatives to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation."
He added, "The Government of Uganda is committed to sustaining the excellent progress we have made. This will be achieved through the implementation of a comprehensive post–grey list strategy,
including continuous review of our legal framework, sustained capacity of all the relevant institutions to effectively combat Money Laundering , Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation and ongoing engagement with the private sector."
