Home | News | KING SEES NEAL TAKE ESAAMLG TOP POST

KING SEES NEAL TAKE ESAAMLG TOP POST

06/09/2019 22:48:00 By Bonsile Makhubu

Font size:

MBABANE – Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg has taken over ambassadorship of the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).

The minister took over from Seychelles Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning Minister Maurice Loustan Lalanne.
The announcement was made during a gala dinner held at the Royal Swazi Sun International on Thursday night, marking the 20th anniversary of the organisation.

His Majesty King Mswati III, delegates from other countries and guests witnessed the handover where acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku said he hoped Rijkenberg would represent the country very well.

Workshop

This was after a weeklong workshop on money laundering where the 18 countries that form ESAAMLG had discussions.
There were also heads of financial intelligence units from the United States and United Kingdom, who shared their expertise in various aspects.
Addressing the gathering, His Majesty said it was gratifying to note that member countries had grown from seven to 18.

“We all know that money laundering has no political boundaries. These crimes may originate in one jurisdiction but may have a bearing in another, thus the need to be collaborative and be one step ahead of these criminals as they are very intelligent and innovative in nature.”

The King said from the work done by ESAAMLG over the years, it was clear that there was a lot to share with the African Union (AU) on the way the organisation conducted peer reviews.
The King pointed out that African States needed the integrity of their financial systems to grow to First World status by making sure that they were resilient and reliable.

Punishment

“However, these systems rely on having a strong legal framework to ensure that perpetrators get the relevant punishment.”
He said Eswatini had come a long way in positioning itself to fight any acts that have the potential to destabilise the financial sector, as this was critical for investment and provision of basic tenets of quality services and better living standards for the people.