By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana) —The Government and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on Friday challenged stakeholders to move beyond risk assessments to delivering measurable results in the fight against money laundering and financial crime as Zimbabwe heads for its mutual evaluation in January 2027.
The call was made by the permanent secretary for Finance and chair of the National Anti-Money Laundering advisory committee, George Guvamatanga during Zimbabwe’s 5th Public-Private sector dialogue on Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime.
In a speech read on his behalf by the chief director for Economic Affairs in the Ministry , Joseph Mverecha, Guvamatanga commended the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for sustaining the forum, saying it has become a critical mechanism for protecting Zimbabwe’s financial system and economy from abuse by criminals.
“It is both a privilege and an honour for me to address you at this occasion of what is now Zimbabwe’s Fifth Public Private Sector Dialogue on Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime,” he said.
“The fact that we are gathered here today for the fifth edition is, in itself, testimony to Zimbabwe’s firm recognition that effective AML-CFT systems cannot be built by government alone, nor by the private sector acting in isolation.”
“Success requires partnership, trust, communication and above all, a shared commitment to action.”
Held under the theme “From Insight to Action: Strengthening Public-Private Understanding and Responses to Financial Crimes,” Guvamatanga said the theme could not be more timely.
He said over the years Zimbabwe has invested considerable resources in successive National Risk Assessments, sectoral assessments and typology studies, giving stakeholders a much deeper appreciation of vulnerabilities, including sources of illicit proceeds, laundering methods, terrorist financing threats and risks posed by evolving technologies.
“However, understanding risk, while essential, is not an end in itself. The effectiveness of a country’s AML-CFT system is not measured by the number of reports we produce, the number of meetings we attend, or the quantity of information we gather. It is measured by outcomes,” he said.
“It is measured by our ability to use the insights we have gathered to detect illicit activity, investigate financial crime, recover criminal proceeds, prevent abuse of our financial system and ultimately safeguard our economy and everyday Zimbabweans.”
“The challenge before us today is therefore clear. How do we convert insight into action? How do we transform knowledge into results? How do we turn understanding into impactful responses?”he asked.
Tracing Zimbabwe’s journey, he recalled that in October 2019 Zimbabwe was placed on the FATF list of countries under increased monitoring, commonly referred to as the Grey List, which highlighted deficiencies.
“The response that followed remains one of the strongest examples of effective public-private cooperation in our country’s AML-CFT history,” he said. Government, supervisors, law enforcement, policymakers and reporting entities worked together to strengthen legislation, enhance frameworks, improve supervision and increase reporting quality.
“These collective efforts culminated in Zimbabwe’s exit from the Grey List in February 2022. That achievement was not the success of a single institution, it was the success of partnership and cooperation.”
He warned that AML-CFT effectiveness is not a destination but a continuous journey.
Zimbabwe is now at another significant stage — undergoing a Mutual Evaluation under the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).
The process commenced earlier this year and stakeholders have already completed and submitted Technical Compliance and Effectiveness templates under FIU coordination and policy direction from the Ministry of Finance.
“We now look forward to the onsite assessment scheduled for January 2027. The onsite visit represents an important opportunity for Zimbabwe to demonstrate not only the strength of its legal and institutional framework but, more importantly, the effectiveness of its AML-CFT system in practice,” Guvamatanga said.
“Assessors will be looking beyond laws, policies and procedures. They will seek evidence that stakeholders understand risks, work together effectively and produce meaningful outcomes.”
He said Zimbabwe will also host the ESAAMLG Task Force of Senior Officials meeting in April 2027, with the Mutual Evaluation Report to be discussed, adopted and published in August 2027, placing the country in the spotlight.
“What is particularly noteworthy is that while many jurisdictions are still developing formal mechanisms for structured engagement, Zimbabwe has already established a tradition of sustained public-private dialogue. This is now our fifth. The next stage should not simply be more dialogue. It should be more impactful dialogue that leads to better intelligence sharing, better detection, more effective investigations and ultimately measurable outcomes.”
Addressing the same meeting, FIU director general Oliver Chiperesa said by reaching the fifth edition , it shows the Dialogue has become an important feature of Zimbabwe’s AML-CFT architecture, but its value will be judged by what it produces.
“The theme is both timely and deliberate. Over the years, our institutions have gathered considerable knowledge about the financial-crime risks confronting the country,” Chiperesa said.
He said the Dialogue should not be viewed as just another conference.
“This Dialogue should be treated as a working platform — one through which we identify specific challenges, develop practical responses and strengthen relationships across the public and private sector divide,” Chiperesa said.
He said that the edition of the dialogue was particularly significant because it comes in the middle of the ESAAMLG mutual evaluation.
The evaluators will assess whether Zimbabwe’s framework produces demonstrable outcomes — quality of suspicious transaction reports, exchange of financial intelligence, risk-based supervision, investigations, prosecutions and asset recovery.
“The Financial Intelligence Unit remains committed to supporting meaningful public-private engagement, providing appropriate feedback and guidance, and promoting the responsible exchange of information within the confines of the law,” he said.
The focus on effectiveness comes as Zimbabwe seeks to protect the integrity of its financial system while gold, its largest foreign currency earner and anchor for the ZiG currency, remains the biggest illicit financial flow risk.
Official risk assessments have flagged illegal trade and smuggling of minerals, corruption, tax evasion and increasingly sophisticated cross-border criminal networks. Independent estimates of gold leakages range from US$1.2 billion to US$1.9 billion annually, underscoring why authorities are pushing for intelligence-led detection and asset recovery.
The push aligns with international trends where public-private partnerships are now viewed not as good practice but as a critical component of effective AML-CFT systems — an area where Zimbabwe’s five-year-old Dialogue is seen as ahead of many jurisdictions still building such mechanisms.
New Ziana
